^^^>2^^    l^t 


^^A^'L-^' 


^  >i^^  ^:7^V>?  . 


^  ^,^r^  /J 


BV  260  .B7  1873 

Boyd,  James  R.  1804-1890. 

Daily  communion  with  God 


DAILY 
COMMUNION  WITH  GOD 


ON 


THE  PLAN  RECOMMENDED 

BY  EEV.  MATTHEW  HENRY,  V.  D.  M. 


FOB 


BEGINNING,  SPENDING,  CONCLUDING 

EACH  DAY  WITH  GOD. 


BY  JAMES  E.  BOYD,  D.  D. 


AMEKICAN  TRACT   SOCIETY, 

150  NASSAU  STKEET,  NEW  YOEK. 


CONTENTS 


PART  I. 
HOW  TO  BEGIN  THE  DAY  WITH  GOD page  11 

PART  II. 
HOW  TO  SPEND  THE  DAY  WITH  GOD 35 

PART   III. 
HOW  TO  CLOSE  THE  DAY  WITH  GOD 67 


APPLICATION 95 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 


^  N  the  following  pages  is  presented  the  important 
^^  and  too  much  neglected  subject  of  daily  com- 
munion with  God,  on  the  plan  pursued  by  the 
Rev.  Matthew  Henry,  the  celebrated  commentator  on 
the  Scriptures,  in  three  discourses,  dehvered  at  a 
morning  lecture  in  the  year  1712.  A  free  use  has 
been  made  of  the  thoughts,  and  also  of  the  language, 
often  quaint  and  pithy,  of  that  eminently  practical 
and  godly  writer,  in  the  hope  of  tlius  more  certainly 
persuading  the  attentive  reader  of  these  page^  to  the 
adoption  and  pursuit  of  the  spiritual  course  of  life 
herein  proposed. 

The  writer  has  also  employed  some  pains  in  select- 
ing and  in  disposing  throughout  the  work,  the  best 
passages  of  devotional  poetry  he  has  been  able  to 
find,  illustrative  of  the  topics  discussed,  and  adapted 


6  INTRODUCTORY   NOTE. 

to  impress  them  upon  the  memory,  the  heart,  and 
the  Hfe. 

The  daily  life  of  Matthew  Henry  furnishes  a  beau- 
tiful and  instmctive  commentary  upon  what  he  has 
recommended  in  the  discourses  which  form  the  basis 
of  the  present  work.  The  late  Dr.  James  Hamilton 
of  London  has  written  an  admirable  biographical 
sketch  of  this  great  and  good  man,  some  extracts 
from  which,  chiefly  composed,  however,  of  portions 
of  his  Diary,  and  here  subjoined,  will  prepare  the 
reader  to  regard  T\ith  deeper  interest,  and  to  receive 
with  greater  confidence  and  favor,  the  counsels  which 
are  offered  ui^on  the  best  method  of  passing  our 
days  on  earth. 

"The  great  business  of  Mr.  Henry's  Hfe  was  the 
cultivation  of  piety  in  himself  and  others.  His  reli- 
gion was  not  the  less  profound  that  it  was  mild  and 
lowly ;  nor  is  it  the  less  fitted  for  imitation  that  it 
adorned  and  cheered  a  hfe  of  tranquil  tenor.  His 
own  practice  was  a  constant  effort  to  'begin,  and 
spend,  and  conclude  each  day  with  God, '  Besides  the 
fuU  and  deHberate  worship  of  God  in  his  family,  he 
abounded  in  secret  prayer.  It  was  his  recourse  in 
every  undertaking.  His  seimons  were  begun,  his 
books  were  pubhshed,  his  journeys  were  commenced, 
and  the  imi)ortant  steps  of  his  history  were  taken  with 
prayer." 

"  What  incomes  of  grace,"  he  wrote,  "yea,  and  out- 
ward good  things,  as  far  as  they  are  indeed  good  for 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE.  7 

us,  have  we  by  an  access  to  God  in  Christ !  Such 
have  a  companion  ready  in  all  their  solitudes,  a  coun- 
sellor in  all  their  doubts,  a  comforter  in  all  their  sor- 
rows, a  supply  in  all  their  wants,  a  support  under  all 
their  burdens,  a  shelter  in  aU  their  dangers,  strength 
for  all  their  performances,  and  salvation  insured  by  a 
sweet,  undeceiving  earnest.  What  is  heaven  but  an 
everlasting  access  to  God  ?  And  present  access  is  a 
pledge  of  it." 

"  And  as  he  had  devout  and  confident  recourse  to 
the  throne  of  grace,  so  he  was  an  alert  and  thankful 
observer  of  those  providences  which  answered  prayer. 
He  could  say  that  the  good  things  of  God's  children 
'are  not  dispensed  out  of  the  basket  of  common 
providence,  but  out  of  the  ark  of  the  covenant ;'  and 
'  those  mercies  are  the  sweetest  which  are  seen  grow- 
ing upon  the  root  of  a  promise. '  Like  his  contem- 
porary in  Scotland,  Thomas  Boston,  his  diary  is  full 
of  recognitions  of  God's  superintending  care  and 
kind  interposing  hand.  Gratitude  for  mercies  was 
constantly  irradiating  his  path  and  sweetening  his 
spirit;  and  if  he  sometimes  sought  the  prayers  of 
his  fiiends,  he  also  sought  the  helj)  of  their  praises. 
On  special  occasions  he  invited  them  to  his  house  to 
join  in  thanksgiving  for  recent  deliverances  or  dis- 
tinguishing favors.  '  O  magnify  the  Lord  Avith  me  ; 
let  us  exalt  his  name  together.' 

"In  a  prominent  degree  Mr.  Henry  possessed  a 
spiritual  mind;   and  of  that  spirituality  one  great 


8  INTRODUCTOEY   NOTE. 

secret  was  his  devout  and  delighted  observance  of  the 
Lord's  day.  On  it  he  accumulated  all  the  endear- 
ment and  veneration  of  a  grateful  and  conscientious 
spirit,  and  in  it  he  collected  j)atience  and  impulse  for 
the  days  to  come.  To  him  the  Sabbath  was  like  a 
reservoir  on  the  summit  of  a  hill.  He  was  sure  that 
if  this  day  were  filled  with  heavenly  things,  it  would 
send  down  its  bright  and  refreshing  streams  through 
all  the  week." 

"The  better  to  *  fix  his  heart'  and  help  hi«  mem- 
ory, he  kept  an  occasional  Journal.  As  affording  the 
most  intimate  view  of  his  character,  we  may  give  a 
few  extracts  from  it : 

"  January  1, 1701.  '  Being  more  and  more  confirm- 
ed in  my  belief  of  the  being  and  attributes  of  God, 
of  the  mediation  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  between 
God  and  man,  and  of  the  reahty  and  weight  of  invis- 
ible things,  and  being  more  and  more  satisfied  that 
this  is  the  true  grace  of  God  wherein  I  stand,  I  do 
solemnly  resign  and  give  up  my  whole  self  to  God  in 
Jesus  Christ.  I  commit  my  soul  and  all  the  con- 
cerns of  my  spiritual  state  to  the  grace  of  God  and 
to  the  word  of  his  grace,  subjecting  myself  to  the 
conduct  and  government  of  the  blessed  Spirit,  and 
to  his  influence  and  operations,  which  I  earnestly 
desire  and  depend  upon  for  the  mortifying  of  my 
corruptions,  the  strengthening  of  my  graces,  the  fur- 
nishing me  for  every  good  word  and  work,  and  the 
ripening  of  me  for  heaven.     I  commit  my  body  and 


INTRODUCTORY   NOTE.  9 

all  the  concerns  of  my  outward  condition  to  the  prov- 
idence of  God,  to  be  ordered  and  disposed  by  the 
Avisdom  and  will  of  my  heavenly  Father.  Not  know- 
ing the  things  which  may  befall  me  this  year,  I  refer 
myself  to  God.  Whether  it  shall  be  my  dying  year 
or  not,  I  do  not  know ;  but  it  is  my  earnest  expecta- 
tion and  hope  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  shall  be 
magnified  in  my  body,  whether  it  be  by  life  or  death, 
by  health  or  sickness,  by  plenty  or  poverty,  by  lib- 
erty or  restraint,  by  j)reaching  or  silence,  by  comfort 
or  sorrow.  Welcome,  welcome  the  will  of  God, 
whatever  it  be. ' 

"January  1,  1705.  'Lord,  grant  that  this  year  I 
may  be  more  holy,  and  walk  more  closely  than  ever 
in  all  holy  conversation.  I  earnestly  desire  to  be 
filled  with  holy  thoughts,  to  be  carried  out  in  holy 
affections,  determined  by  holy  aims  and  intentions, 
and  governed  in  all  my  words  and  actions  by  holy 
principles.  Oh  that  a  golden  thread  of  holiness  may 
run  through  the  whole  web  of  this  year  !' 

"'  I  know  it  is  the  wiQ  of  God  that  I  should  be  use- 
ful, and  by  his  grace  I  will  be  so.  Lord,  thou  know- 
est  it  is  the  toj)  of  my  ambition  in  this  world  to  do 
good,  and  to  be  serviceable  to  the  honor  of  Christ 
and  the  welfare  of  precious  souls.  I  would  fain  do 
good  in  the  pulpit  and  good  with  my  pen,  and,  which 
I  earnestly  desire  to  abound  more  in,  good  by  my 
common  conversation.' " 

Such  a  man  has  the  right  and  the  ability  to  instruct 


10 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 


us  hoio  to  begin,  how  to  spend,  and  how  to  conclude  the 
day  icith  God,  so  that  we  shall  make  the  most  of  this 
brief  life,  and  render  it  a  wise  and  ample  prepara- 
tion for  the  great  hereafter. 
Geneva,  N.  Y. 


PART  I 


HOW 


So  ^Segin  the  Bay 


^WITH  GOD 


Come  at  the  morning  hour, 
Come,  let  us  kneel  and  pray  ; 

Prayer  is  the  Christian  pilgrim's  staff 
To  walk  with  God  all  day. 

'  At  noon,  beneath  the  Rock 
Of  Ages,  rest  and  pray ; 
Sweet  is  that  shelter  from  the  sun 
In  the  weary  heat  of  day. 

'At  evening,  in  thy  home, 

Around  its  altar,  pray ; 
And  finding  there  the  house  of  God, 

With  heaven  then  close  the  day. 

'  When  midnight  veils  our  eyes, 
Oh,  it  is  sweet  to  say, 
*I  sleep,  but  my  heart  waketh.  Lord, 
With  thee  to  watch  and  pray. ' " 


HOW  TO  BEGIN 


THE 


DAY  WITH   GOD 


ed^AVID,  the  royal  Psalmist  of  Israel,  has  set 
^  an^example  worthy  of  universal  imitation, 
in  respect  to  the  proper  method  of  entering 
upon  each  day  of  life.  In  his  fifth  Psalm,  after 
declaring  to  God  the  pious  purpose,  "  Unto  thee 
will  I  pray,"  he  adds,  "My  voice  shalt  thou  hear 
in  the  morning;  in  the  morning  will  I  direct  my 
prayer  unto  thee,  and  will  look  up."  We  are 
not  to  suppose,  however,  that  the  morning  was 
the  only  time  which  he  employed  in  this  way. 
In  another  psalm  he  writes,  "Morning,  and 
evening,  and  at  noon,  will  I  pray,  and  cry 
aloud."  Psa.  55:17.  Again  he  writes,  (Psa. 
119: 64,)  "  Seven  times  a  day  will  I  praise  thee." 
It  would  thus  appear  that  prayer  and  praise  en- 


16      DAILY   COMMUNION   WITH  GOD.     ' 

tered  largely  into  the  daily  life  and  occupation 
of  this  great  and  good  man — a  man  to  whose 
inspired  psalms  the  Christian  world  is  indebted 
most  largely  for  devotional  feeling  and  expres- 
sion, in  all  acts  of  worship  and  of  piety. 

From  his  example,  we  are  to  learn  that  it  is 
our  ivisdom  and  duty  to  begin  every  day  with  God. 

The  expression,  "  My  voice  thou  shalt  hear," 
may  be  understood  in  either  of  two  senses  :  1. 
Thou  wilt  hear,  attend  to,  regard  the  prayer 
which  I  address  to  thee  in  the  morning.  Or 
2.  Every  morning  will  I  address  thee  in  the  lan- 
guage of  supplication  and  of  praise. 

In  regard  to  the  first  of  these  senses,  it  is  a 
matter  of  great  importance  to  believe  fully  that 
God  is  a  prayer-hearing  God  ;  that  whatever  we 
ask  of  him  as  a  Father,  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ  the  Mediator,  according  to  the  will  of 
God  revealed  in  the  Scriptures,  shall  be  granted 
us  either  in  kind,  or  in  an  equivalent,  according 
to  the  experience  of  the  saints  in  all  ages,  and 
that  God  never  said  to  the  seed  of  Jacob,  "  Seek 
ye  me,"  in  vain,  but  is  "  a  rewarder  of  them  who 
diligently  seek  him." 

In  regard  to  the  second  of  the  above  senses, 
David  declares  that  every  day — every  morning — 


BEGINNING   THE    DAY.  17 

God  should  hear  the  voice  of  his  prayer.  We 
may  speak  to  our  God  either  with  or  without 
the  use  of  the  voice  ;  for  the  substance  of  prayer 
consists  in  the  lifting  up  of  the  soul  to  God,  and 
pouring  out  the  sentiments  of  the  heart  before 
him  ;  but  the  use  of  the  voice  greatly  aids  us  in 
fixing  our  thoughts  and  giving  distinctness  to 
the  feelings  of  devotion,  and  therefore  should, 
for  the  most  part,  be  employed  when  we  seek  to 
cb-aw  near  to  God,  though  he  needs  not  any 
verbal  utterances  fi'om  us,  to  understand  the 
desires  and  the  affections  of  our  hearts. 

It  should  be  our  purpose  also,  daily  to  ap- 
proach our  God  in  prayer  and  in  praise. 

This  he  expects  and  requires  ;  not  because  he 
needs  our  rehgious  services  or  can  be  benefited 
b}^  them ;  but  thereby  he  seeks  to  maintain  a 
proper  sense  of  his  sovereign  authority  over  us, 
iind  to  keep  us  continually  in  mind  of  our  entii'e 
dependence  upon  him,  and  of  our  incessant  and 
heavy  obligations  to  honor,  obey,  and  serve 
him. 

Thus,  also,  he  testifies  his  compassion  towards 
us,  and  his  kindly  interest  at  all  times  in  our 
affairs. 

We  have,  or  ought  to  have,  something  to  say 

Daily  Communion.  2 


18      DAILY   COMMUNION   WITH   GOD. 

to  God  every  day.  Multitudes  there  are,  liow- 
ever,  who  do  not  seem  to  understand,  or  they 
never  act  upon  this  sentiment.  Their  sin  and 
their  misery  it  is,  that  they  live  without  inter- 
course with  God ;  they  are  not  sensible  of  their 
dependence  upon  him,  nor  of  their  obHgations, 
and  hence  they  have  nothing  to  say  to  him.  He 
never  hears  from  them ;  as  the  father  of  the 
prodigal  son  heard  nothing  from  him,  for 
months  and  years.  They  ignore  the  presence, 
the  rightful  authority,  the  paramount  claims, 
the  unceasing  benefactions  of  their  God  and 
Saviour.  But  all  right-minded  persons  will  feel 
and  acknowledge  that  ever}^  one  should  have 
something  to  say  to  God  daily. 

1.  As  to  a  Friend  whom  ive  love.  The  fellow- 
ship of  believers  is  said  to  be  with  the  Father 
and  with  his  Son  Jesus  Christ ;  and  have  we 
nothing,  then,  to  say  to  the  Father  and  to  the 
Son  ?  Is  there  not  occasion  to  express  our  ado- 
ration of  the  divine  attributes,  and  our  praise  of 
the  divine  works,  in  creation,  providence,  and 
redemption  ?  Have  we  not  much  to  say  in  ac- 
knowledgment of  his  amazing  grace  and  boun- 
teousness  to  us?  Is  it  not  proper  to  express 
oiir  affection  and  our  submission  to  him,  saying, 


BEGINNING   THE   DAY.  19 

as  did  the  apostle,    "Lord,  tliou   knowest   all 
things,  thou  knowest  that  I  love  thee"  ? 

God  has  something  to  say  to  us,  as  a  Friend, 
every  day,  by  the  holy  Scriptures,  by  his  provi- 
dences, and  by  our  consciences  ;  and  if  we  have 
nothing  to  say,  by  way  of  response,  do  we  not 
prove  ourselves  to  be  altogether  wanting  in 
friendship  and  love  to  him?  When  he  says  to 
us,  "  Seek  ye  my  face,"  should  not  our  hearts 
answer  as  to  one  we  love,  "  Thy  face.  Lord,  will 
we  seek?"  So  when  he  says  to  us,  "Eeturn,  ye 
backsliding  children,"  should  we  not  readily  re- 
ply, "Behold  we  come  unto  thee,  for  thou  art 
the  Lord  our  God"  ?  If  he  speaks  to  us  in  the 
way  of  reproof,  and  charges  us  with  our  sins, 
should  we  not  answer  by  a  penitent  confession 
of  them  ?  If  he  speaks  in  the  language  of  com- 
fort and  of  encouragement,  should  we  not  reply 
in  the  language  of  grateful  praise  V 

"  New  every  morning  is  the  lovb 

Our  wakening  and  uprising  prove  ; 
Through  sleep  and  darkness  safely  brought, 
Kestored  to  life,  and  power,  and  thought. 

"New  mercies  each  returning  day 
Hover  around  us  while  we  pray  ; 
New  perils  past,  new  sins  forgiven. 

New  thoughts  of  God,  new  hopes  of  heaven. 


20      DAILY   COMMUNION   WITH   GOD. 

"  Only,  O  Lord,  in  thy  dear  love, 
Fit  us  for  perfect  rest  above, 
And  keep  us  this  and  every  day, 

To  live  more  nearly  as  we  pray."  keble. 

2.  We  have,  daily,  something  to  say  to  God,  as 
to  a  Master  ivhom  we  serve.  Most  numerous  and 
important  are  the  concerns  which  he  between 
us  and  Grod-  On  him  we  are  constantly  depend- 
ent, and  all  our  just  expectations  are  from  him. 
Our  happiness  is  bound  up  in  his  favor  and  lov- 
ing-kindness. Have  we  not  then  business  to 
transact  with  God — to  seek  that  favor  with  all 
our  hearts,  since  it  is  the  life  of  our  souls  ?  and 
to  plead  Christ's  righteousness,  as  the  only  me- 
dium through  which  we  can  hope  to  obtain 
God's  loving  kindness? 

Having  offended  God,  and  thus  become  ob- 
noxious to  his  indignation,  we  have  to  confess 
our  sin  and  folly,  to  ask  for  pardon  through  the 
blood  of  Christ,  and  to  repent  of  our  sins  at  the 
foot  of  the  cross. 

Further,  as  we  have  daily  work  to  do  for  God, 
and  for  our  own  souls,  we  have  to  beg  of  him  to 
L^how  us  what  he  would  have  us  to  do,  to  dii-ect 
us,  and  to  strengthen  us.  Besides,  we  are  in 
continual  danger.  We  are  surrounded  with  dis- 
eases and  deaths,  and  have  occasion  to  put  our- 


BEGINNING    THE    DAY.  21 

selves  daily  under  the  protection  of  God's  prov- 
idence, to  be  tlie  charge  of  his  holy  angels.  Our 
souls  also  are  in  danger,  from  Satan  and  from 
temptation,  and  we  need  to  supphcate  the  aid 
of  God's  Holy  Spiiit,  and  of  his  providence, 
that  we  ma}^  not  be  surprised  into  sin  and  over- 
come by  strong  temptations. 

Again,  we  are  drawing  near  to  the  period 
when  our  everlasting  destiny  shall  be  fixed,  and 
have  we  not  something  to  say  to  God  in  respect 
to  our  preparation  for  eternity  ? 

Moreover,  as  members  of  the  body  of  Christ, 
are  we  not  bound  to  be  living,  active,  useful 
members  ?  Have  we  not  business  with  God,  to 
entreat  him  to  make  us  such,  and  to  offer  inter- 
cession for  the  church,  for  its  extension  over  the 
whole  earth,  its  prosperity,  its  puiity?  Have 
we  not  also  business  with  him,  as  the  God  of 
our  national  well-being,  to  pray  for  our  beloved 
land,  for  its  rulers,  and  its  people  ? 

Further,  have  we  nothing  to  say  to  God,  in 

behalf  of  our  famihes,  our  relations,  our  friends, 

our  community  ? 

"  Remember  all  who  love  thee, 
All  who  are  loved  by  thee  ; 
Pray,  too,  for  those  who  hate  thee, 
If  any  such  there  be  ; 


22       DAILY    COMMUNION   WITH   GOD. 

Then  for  thyself  in  meekness 

A  blessing  humbly  claim, 
And  blend  with  each  petition 

Thy  great  Redeemer's  name. 

'*  Or,  if  'tis  e'er  denied  thee 

In  solitude  to  pray. 
Should  holy  thoughts  come  o'er  thee 

When  friends  are  round  thy  way, 
E'en  then  the  silent  breathing 

Thy  spirit  lifts  above 
Will  reach  His  throne  of  glory, 

Where  dwells  eternal  love." 

It  sliould  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  if 
we  expect  God  to  hear  us,  and  to  give  a  favora- 
ble answer  when  we  speak  to  him,  we  must  give 
attention  to  him  when  he  speaks  to  us,  as  he 
does  daily  in  his  word,  in  his  providence,  and  in 
our  own  consciences. 

"In  the  morning,"  says  David,  "will  I  dii-ect 
my  prayer  unto  thee,  and  look  up."  This  lan- 
guage denotes  a  close  apphcation  of  mind  and 
heart,  an  earnest  and  elevated  purpose  in  the 
suppHant.  Not  to  men,  nor  to  be  heard  of 
them,  do  we  pray,  but  to  God.  We  "look  up 
to  him  "  as  dwelhng  in  the  heavens,  yet  as  One 
whom  the  heaven  of  heavens  cannot  contain. 
"We  must  also  "look  up"  for  an  answer  to  our 
prayers,  and  we  must  look  around  us  to  observe 


BEGINNING   THE    DA.Y.  23 

how  far  Divine  Providence  operates  in  our  favor, 
and  what  obstacles  are  to  be  removed,  before  a 
gracious  answer  may  be  reasonably  expected. 

"  When,  streaming  from  the  eastern  skies, 
The  moruiug  light  sahites  my  eyes, 

O  Sou  of  Kighteonsness  divine, 
On  me  with  beams  of  mercy  shine. 

Oh,  chase  the  clouds  of  guilt  away. 

And  turn  my  darkness  into  day. 

"When  to  heaven's  great  and  glorious  King 
My  morning  sacrifice  I  bring. 
And,  mourning  o'er  my  guilt  and  shame. 

Ask  mercy  in  my  Saviour's  name, 
Then,  Jesus,  sprinkle  with  tliy  blood, 
And  be  my  advocate  with  God. "  sir  r.  grant. 

The  time  appropriated  to  prayer  is  in  the  morn- 
ing; not  then  only,  but  ^Drayer  is  to  be  one  of 
our  first  employments  in  the  day.  Every  Chris- 
tian should  commence  the  day  with  secret  prayer, 
and  every  head  of  a  family  should,  each  morn- 
ing, offer  prayer  in  the  presence  of  his  family, 
and  in  their  behalf.  For  this  course  several 
reasons  may  be  mentioned  : 

1.  The  morning  being  the  first  part  of  the 
day,  it  is  fit  that  He  who  is  the  First,  should 
have  the  first,  and  be  first  served.  The  fii-st 
fruits  of  the  Hebrew  fields  were  always  to  be 
devoted  to  God,  and  so  were  the  firstlings  of 


24      DAILY   COMMUNION   WITH   GOD. 

the  Hebrew  flocks.  By  morning  and  evening 
prayer,  we  pay  honor  to  him  who  is  the  Alpha 
and  the  Omega,  the  first  and  the  last.  It  seems 
then  a  most  rational  thing  to  begin  and  to  end 
the  day  with  him. 

2.  In  the  morning  we  are  in  the  best  condi- 
tion, both  of  body  and  mind,  for  the  proper 
service  of  God,  and  he  is  obviously  entitled  to 
the  best  service  it  is  in  our  power  to  render. 

3.  We  are  then,  ordinarily,  least  encumbered 
with  the  cares  of  hfe,  the  claims  of  business, 
and  of  society,  so  that  we  may  secure,  if  we 
rise  early  enough,  the  time  that  should  be  em- 
ployed in  secret  and  also  in  family  devotion.  It 
is  for  the  interest  of  those  who  have  much  to  do 
in  worldly  matters,  to  take  time  in  the  morning, 
before  worldly  business  crowds  upon  them, 
for  the  more  important  business  of  the  future 
life,  that  they  may  attend  to  it  with  the  more 
entire  devotion  and  concentration  of  mind  and 

heart. 

"  Morn  is  the  time  to  pray  ; 
How  lovely  and  how  meet, 
To  send  our  earliest  thought  away 

Up  to  the  mercy-seat — 
Ambassadors  for  us,  to  claim 
A  blessing  in  our  Master's  name  !" 

MRS.  J.  L.  GRAY. 


BEGINNING   THE   DAY.  25 

4.  In  tlie  morning  it  is  most  fitting  to  ac- 
knowledge the  great  mercies  of  the  night  just 
passed,  the  protection  of  life  and  health,  the  in- 
vigoration  of  the  body  and  the  mind  for  new 
duties  and  enjoyments.  Have  we  had  a  good 
night?  Let  us  repair  to  the  throne  of  grace 
with  our  cheerful  thanksgiving.  How  many 
are  the  mercies  involved  in  passing  a  good 
niglit !  a  comfortable  house,  fi-eedom  from  sick- 
ness and  pain,  no  occasion  to  watch  with  the 
sick  or  the  dying,  exemption  from  all  causes  of 
disturbance,  refi'eshing  sleep ! 

"  In  sleep's  serene  oblivion  laid, 
I  safely  passed  the  silent  night, 
Again  I  see  the  breaking  shade — 
I  drink  again  the  morning  light. 

"New-born,  I  bless  the  waking  hour, 
Once  more,  with  awe,  rejoice  to  be  ; 
My  conscious  soul  resumes  her  power, 
And  springs,  my  guardian  God,  to  thee," 

HAWKESWOKTH. 

Have  we  a  pleasant  morning?  Is  the  light 
sweet  to  us,  the  light  of  the  sun,  the  power  of 
vision  ?  Are  we  stiU  surrounded  with  the  vari- 
ous accommodations  and  blessings  of  domestic 
life  ?  Have  we  food  and  raiment  in  abundance? 
Are  we  in  the  enjoyment  of  health  and  ease? 


26      DAILY    COMMUNION    WITH    GOD. 

Ought  we  not  then  to  own,  with  glad  hearts, 
our  obligation  to  the  great  Father  of  mercies 
for  all  these  and  similar  favors,  which  have,  in 
whole  or  in  part,  been  denied  to  multitudes  of 
our  race,  and  which  we  have  ourselves  forfeited 
by  our  ingratitude  and  disobedience  towards 
Him  on  whom  we  depend  for  life,  and  breath, 
and  all  things  ?  We  know  not,  perhaps,  to  what" 
great  dangers  we  have  been  exposed  during  the 
night,  and  which  have  been  graciously-  averted 
by  our  heavenly  Father.  The  destroying  angel 
may  have  been  abroad  in  our  neighborhood ; 
the  incendiary  or  the  robber  may  have  medita- 
ted mischief  against  us  and  our  dwelling,  but 
God  has  turned  him  aside,  so  that  we  have  es- 
caped all  harm.  And  does  such  providential 
and  distinguishing  care  merit  no  recognition 
and  praise  on  our  part?  and  should  not  the 
first  morning  hour  see  us  on  our  knees  before 
Him  who  has  exerted  it  ? 

"While  Nature  welcomes  in  the  day, 
My  heart  its  earliest  hours  would  pay 
To  Htm  whose  care  has  kindly  kept 
My  Ufe  from  danger  while  I  slept. 

**Wilt  Thou  this  day  my  footsteps  guide 
And  kindly  all  I  need  provide  ; 


BEGINNING   THE    DAY.  27 

With  strength  divine  my  bosom  ann 
Against  temptation's  powerful  charm? 

"Where'er  I  am,  oh,  may  I  feel 
That  God  is  all  around  me  still ; 
That  all  I  say,  or  do,  or  mean, 
By  his  all-searching  eye  is  seen. 

"Oh,  may  each  day  my  heart  improve, 
Increase  ray  faith,  my  hope,  my  love  ; 
And  thus  its  shades  around  me  close 
More  wise  and  holy  than  I  rose."         frisbie, 

5.  If  during  the  night  we  have  had  any  wake- 
ful hours,  and  they  have  been  occupied  in  sweet 
meditations  upon  God  and  his  good  providence 
over  us,  we  shall  be  all  the  better  fitted  in  the 
morning  to  present  to  God  a  spiritual  sacrifice 
of  a  sweet-smelling  savor.  The  word  of  God, 
also,  will  aid  us  in  the  morning  to  right  thoughts 
of  God,  and  arouse  us  to  the  exercise  of  pious 
feeling. 

6.  On  the  contrary,  in  the  morning  we  may 
have  occasion  to  recollect  the  indulgence  of  vain 
and  sinful  thoughts,  affections,  and  imagina- 
tions during  the  night  season,  and  upon  that 
account  a  necessity  arises  for  going  to  God,  in 
the  morning,  with  humble  supplications  for  par- 
don and  cleansing. 


28      DAILY   COMMUNION   WITH   GOD. 

And  dare  we  enter  fully  upon  another  day  till 
we  have  renewed  our  repentance  for  wrong- 
doing by  night  as  well  as  by  day  ?  We  cannot, 
with  propriety  or  safety,  proceed  to  the  business 
of  the  day  under  the  guilt  of  unrepented  and 
unpardoned  sin.  Hence,  in  the  morning,  prayer 
for  pardon  becomes  a  necessity  as  well  as  a 
privilege. 

7.  Before  addressing  oui'selves  to  the  work  of 
the  day,  does  it  not  concern  us  to  ask  counsel, 
direction,  assistance,  and  success  from  God, 
whose  providence  may  so  greatly  help  us,  and 
without  whose  blessing  we  have  no  reason  to 
look  for  success  ? 

If  we  have  families  to  provide  for,  and  if  we 
desii-e  to  do  weU  for  them,  it  is  obviously  our 
duty  and  privilege  to  commend  them  and  their 
interests,  every  morning,  to  that  God  fi'om 
whom  Cometh  down  every  good  and  perfect 
gift. 

In  seeking  opportunities  of  doing  or  of  get- 
ting good,  we  should  look  devoutly  to -him  for 
skill  and  wisdom,  patience  and  perseverance. 
Every  day  has  also  its  temptations,  some  of 
which  may  be  foreseen,  others  not.  It  concerns 
us,  therefore,  as  we  learn  from  the  prayer  which 


BEGINNING  THE   DAY.  29 

our  Saviom-  tauglit  us  daily  to  make  use  of,  to 
be  earnest  in  supplication  to  be  fortified  against 
temptation,  or  to  be  delivered  from  it.  We 
need  Divine  assistance  also  to  pass  unharmed, 
and  especially  to  do  good,  through  all  the  social 
intercourse  of  the  day. 

It  should  further  be  borne  in  mind,  that  we 
kno\\'  not  in  the  morning  what  the  day  may 
bring  forth — what  events  it  may  unfold,  deeply 
affecting  our  ha23piness  or  sorrow,  and  for  which 
we  need  to  secure  preparation  from  above,  that 
as  our  day  is,  so  also  our  strength  may  be. 
Grace  we  need  to  furnish  us  thoroughly  for 
every  good  word  and  work,  and  in  like  manner 
to  preserve  us  fi'om  those  of  an  opposite  char- 
acter ;  that  we  may  not  think,  or  speak,  or  do 
anything  in  all  the  day  which  we  may  have  cause 
to  wish  unthought,  unspoken,  and  undone  at 
night. 

"  Forth  in  thy  name,  O  Lord,  we  go, 

Our  dailj'  labor  to  pursue  ; 
Thee,  only  thee,  resolved  to  know, 

In  all  we  think,  or  speak,  or  do. 
Still  would  we  bear  thy  easy  yoke. 

And  every  moment  watch  and  pray  ; 
Would  still  to  things  eternal  look. 

And  hasten  to  thy  glorious  day,"     c.  weslet. 


30      DAILY    COMMUNION   WITH   GOD. 

In  view  of  what  has  been  said  above  arises 
the  question,  How  often  has  our  morning  wor- 
ship been  neglected  on  slight  and  insufficient 
grounds ;  or  if  not  altogether  neglected,  per- 
formed in  a  hasty,  superficial,  and  unbecoming 
manner — in  a  manner  unbecoming  our  wants, 
our  dangers,  responsibilities,  and  obligations — ■ 
unbecoming  also  what  we  owe  to  the  great  Maj- 
esty of  heaven  and  earth,  to  Divine  care  and 
beneficence  ?  God  has  not  been  deficient  in  his 
regard  for  us  as  a  Father,  watching  over  us 
through  the  defenceless  hours  of  the  night ;  but 
how  sadly  deficient  have  we  been  in  performing 
the  duty  of  grateful  and  obedient  children ! 
How  often  have  we  brought  to  the  altar  of  the 
great  God  no  sacrifice  at  all,  or  presented  to 
him  the  torn,  the  lame,  and  the  diseased !  How 
often  have  we  robbed  God  of  the  honor,  and  our- 
selves and  our  famihes  of  the  benefit,  of  morn- 
ing worship  duly  performed !  God  has  come  to 
our  closets — he  has  looked  in  upon  our  families, 
seeking  this  fruit ;  and  has  often  found  none,  or 
that  which  is  worthless. 

Let  none  say  that  they  cannot  'pv^j.  If  favors 
are  needed  from  men,  we  have  no  difficulty  in 
making  knovvu  our  requests,  and  that  with  an 


BEGINNING    THE    DAY.  31 

earnestness  and  perseverance  corresponding  to 
our  sense  of  the  importance  to  us  of  securing 
these  favors.  But  the  favors  which  daily  we 
need  to  ask  from  God,  not  only  temporal,  but 
spiritual,  are  not  only  more  numerous,  but 
vastly  more  important ;  yea,  indispensable.  If 
you  know  that  you  have  sinned — that  you  have 
strong  propensities  to  sin — that  you  are  prone 
to  indulge  them — that  you  do  indulge  them,  in 
opposition  to  the  law  and  mercy  of  God  and 
your  own  good,  and  that  you  are  under  condem- 
nation as  the  result,  and  must  turn  to  God  and 
by  earnest  prayer  obtain  pardon  and  renewal 
through  Christ  and  the  agency  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  can  you  not  command  words  to  express 
your  condition,  and  to  implore  what  your  great 
necessities  require  ? 

Are  you  a  Christian  ?  Never,  for  shame,  say 
you  cannot  pray,  for  that  is  as  absurd  as  for  a 
soldier  to  say  he  knows  not  how  to  handle  a 
sword,  or  a  carpenter  an  axe.  What  are  you 
called  for  into  the  fellowship  of  Christ,  but  that 
you  may  have  fellowship  with  God?  If  you 
cannot  pray  so  well  as  others,  pray  as  well  as 
you  can,  and  God  will  accept  you. 

Is  want  of  time  in  the  morning  alleged  as  an 


32      DAILY    COMMUNION   WITH   GOD. 

excuse  for  neglecting  prayer,  either  secret  or 
domestic  ?  What  is  time  given  us  for,  if  not  for 
the  care  of  our  highest  interests  and  the  per- 
formance of  our  highest  duties  ?  "Who  or  what 
has  claims  upon  our  time  superior  to  God  and 
the  welfare  of  the  soul  ?  What  is  more  needful 
than  prayer  ?  and  what  therefore  is  of  sufficient 
importance  to  set  it  aside?  How  can  time  be 
spent  to  better  advantage  in  the  morning  than 
in  ]Drayer  and  praise  to  God  ?  The  business  of 
the  day  will  not  be  hindered,  but  promoted,  by 
beginning  it  thus  with  God ;  so  that  business 
cannot  wisely  be  j)leaded  as  a  reason  for  rush- 
ing into  it  without  previous  communion  with 
God. 

"  Wheu  first  thj'  eyes  unveil,  give  thy  soul  leave 
To  do  the  like  ;  our  bodies  but  forerun 

The  spirit's  duty  ;  true  hearts  spread  and  heave 
Unto  their  God  as  flowers  do  to  the  sun ; 

Give  him  thy  first  thoughts  then,  so  shalt  thou  keep 
Him  company  all  day,  and  in  him  sleep. 

"Yet  never  sleep  the  sun  up  ;  prayer  should 

DaA\Ti  with  the  day  ;  there  are  set  awful  hours 

'Twixt  heaven  and  us  ;  the  manna  was  not  good 
After  sunrising  ;  fair  day  sullies  flowers  : 

Eise  to  prevent  the  sun  ;  sleep  doth  sins  glut. 

And  heaven's  gate  opens  when  the  world's  is  shut. 


BEGINNING   THE   DAY.  33 

"Serve  God  before  the  world  ;  let  him  not  go 
Until  thou  hast  a  blessing  ;  then  resign 

The  whole  uuto  hira,  :ind  remember  who 
Prevailed  by  wrestling  ere  the  sun  did  shine  : 

Pour  oil  upon  the  stones,  weep  for  thy  sin  ; 
Then  journey  on,  and  have  an  eye  to  heaven. 

"When  the  world's  up,  and  every  swarm  abroad, 
Keep  well  thy  temper,  mix  not  with  each  clay  ; 

Despatch  necessities  ;  life  hath  a  load 

Which  must  be  carried  on,  and  safely  may  ; 

Yet  keep  those  cares  without  thee  ;  let  the  heart 
Be  God's  alone,  and  choose  the  better  part." 

HENRY  VAUGHAJJ. 

It  remains  to  add  a  caution  against  formality 
and  want  of  earnestness  and  sincerity  in  our 
devotions.  It  is  not  enough  to  say  our  prayers, 
but  we  must  pray  our  prayers — must  pray  in 
praying,  as  Elijah  did.  Jas.  5  :  17.  Let  us 
learn  to  labor  fervently  in  prayer,  as  Epapliras 
did,  (Col.  4  :  12,)  and  we  shall  find  that  it  is  the 
hand  of  the  diligent  in  this  duty  that  maketh 
rich.  It  is  not  the  length,  or  the  rhetorical 
beaut}^,  or  the  appropriate  phraseology  of  pray- 
er, that  renders  it  acceptable  to  God ;  but  the 
deep  sincerity,  the  humility,  the  penitence,  the 
faith,  the  holy  love  which  every  right  prayer 
imphes  or  expresses. 

Having  begun  the  day  with  God  in  the  man- 

Daily  Communion.  3 


34      DAILY   COMMUNION    WITH   GOD. 

ner  recommended  above,  the  next  duty,  and 
one  more  difficult  to  perform,  is  to  spend  tlie 
day  with  him,  which  forms  the  subject  of  the 
succeeding  part. 

' '  God  of  the  morning,  at  whose  voice 
The  cheerful  sun  makes  haste  to  rise, 
And  like  a  giant  doth  rejoice 

To  nin  his  journey  through  the  skies; 

•'Oh,  like  the  sun  may  I  fulfil 

Th'  appointed  duties  of  the  day  ; 
With  ready  mind  and  active  will 
March  on,  and  keep  my  heavenly  way. 

"  Give  me  thy  counsel  for  my  guide, 
And  then  receive  me  to  thy  bliss  ; 
All  my  desires  and  hopes  beside 

Are  faint  and  cold,  compared  with  this." 

WATT8. 


'^m§s: 


PART  II 


HOW 


0  fS)PEND  THE  iDAY 


WITH  GOD 


HOW  TO  SPEND 


THE 


DAY  WITH  GOD 


ET  will  be  useful  and  safe  to  adopt,  as  in  ref- 
erence to  the  early  morning  hour,  the  motto 
of  the  great  Hebrew  king  :  "  On  Thee  do  I  wait 
all  the  day."  We  are  to  understand  this  ex- 
pression as  implying  an  expectation  of  favors 
from  God,  and  the  act  of  seeking  them  so  long 
as  they  are  deferred.  David  had  offered  the 
prayer,  "Lead  me  in  thy  truth,  and  teach  me." 
Being  in  suspense  as  to  the  course  of  action  he 
should  pursue,  he  says  to  God  :  "  On  Thee  I 
will  wait  all  the  day."  He  had  also  called  Him 
the  "  God  of  his  salvation  ;"  the  being  on  whom 
he  regarded  his  dehverance  from  various  dan- 
gers and  difficulties  as  depending;  the  being 
from  whom  alone  he  expected  a  spiritual  as  well 


38      DAILY   COMMUNION   WITH   GOD. 

as  a  temporal  and  outward  salvation.  So  Highly 
did  lie  appreciate  what  he  desired  of  God,  that 
he  expresses  his  willingness  and  his  purpose  to 
wait  for  it  all  the  day  until  it  should  be  granted. 

It  is  not  enough  for  us  to  begin  the  day  with 
God  ;  but  during  and  throughout  the  day  ice  are  to 
wait  upon  him. 

1.  This  implies  a  life  of  desire  towards  God — 
not  only  towards  the  good  things  which  are  in 
his  gift,  but  towards  God  himself,  the  manifes- 
tation of  his  glorious  attributes,  and  the  exer- 
cise of  his  grace  upon  us.  The  devout  man 
waits  on  him  as  the  beggar  waits  on  his  benefac- 
tor, with  earnest  desires  to  obtain  needful  sup- 
plies, or  as  the  diseased  at  the  pool  of  Bethesda 
waited  for  the  stirring  of  the  water  and  for  the 
expected  cure.  The  idea  is  most  fully  conveyed 
in  the  psalmist's  own  language  :  "  O  God,  thou 
art  my  God ;  early  will  I  seek  thee  :  my  soul 
thirsteth  for  thee,  my  flesh  longeth  for  thee,  in  a 
dry  and  thii'sty  land,  where  no  water  is."  "My 
soul  foUoweth  hard  after  thee  :  thy  right  hand 
uphold eth  me."  "Thou  shalt  guide  me  with 
thy  counsel."  "There  is  none  upon  earth  that 
I  desire  besides  thee.'*  "It  is  good  for  me  to 
draw  near  to  God ;  I  have  put  my  trust  in  the 


SPENDING   THE   DAY.  39 

Lord  God."  Thus  upon  the  wings  of  holy  de- 
sire should  our  souls  be  ever  soaring  upwards 
towards  God,  and  pressing  towards  the  attain- 
ments— the  spii-it — of  heaven.  We  should  ever 
strive  to  know  more  of  God,  to  become  more 
hke  him,  to  be  brought  into  closer  fellowship, 
and  into  more  active  and  useful  service. 

It  is  not  sufficient  to  have  a  season  of  earnest 
worship  in  the  morning,  but  that  spiritual  de- 
sire, which  is  the  soul  of  prayer,  should  be  kept 
alive  through  the  day ;  the  bent  or  inclination 
of  the  soul  must  tend  towards  God — towards 
serving  him  in  all  that  we  do,  and  enjoying  him 
in  all  that  he  bestows.  This  state  of  mind  is 
intended  in  the  commands  given  us  :  to  pray 
always  ;  to  pray  without  ceasing  ;  to  continue 
in  prayer. 

"Oh,  could  I  find,  from  day  to  day, 
A  nearness  to  my  God, 
Then  would  my  hours  glide  sweet  away 
While  leaning  on  his  word. 

"Lord,  I  desire  with  thee  to  live 
Anew  from  day  to  day, 
In  joys  the  world  can  never  give, 
Nor  ever  take  away." 

-  2.  To  wait  upon  God  is  to  live  a  life  of  delight  in 
God,  as  the  lover  waits  on  the  object  of  his  affec- 


40      DAILY   COMMUNION   WITH   GOD. 

tion.  Desire  is  love  in  motion,  as  a  bird  on  the 
wing ;  delight  is  love  at  rest,  as  a  bird  upon  the 
nest.  Though  our  desire  must  still  be  so  tow- 
ards God  that  we  must  be  wishing  for  more  of 
God,  yet  our  delight  must  be  so  in  God  that 
we  must  never  msh  for  more  than  God.  Re- 
garding him  as  all-sufficient,  we  must  be  satis- 
fied in  him.  Is  it  a  pleasure  to  us  to  think  of 
God — of  his  existence,  attributes,  providence, 
and  glorious  sovereignty?  Do  we  look  up  to 
him  with  conscious  satisfaction  ?  Do  we  glory 
in  him  as  our  God  ?  Do  we  value  him  above  all 
worldly  good  ?  Do  we  expect  more  from  him  ? 
Is  the  heart  so  full  of  God  and  Christ  and  grace, 
that  it  now  spontaneously  says,  "Return  unto 
thy  rest,  O  my  soul ;"  here  repose  thyself  ;  here 
alone  look  for  thy  chief  and  most  permanent 
happiness  ?  The  regenerate  and  sanctified  soul 
dwells  in  God — is  in  him  continually  pleased^ 
and  whatever  disturbance  is  felt  from  externa] 
sources  is  more  than  balanced  by  what  it  finds 
in  God. 

3.  To  wait  on  God  is  to  depend  on  him  for  all 
needful  good,  as  the  child  waits  on  his  father  in 
whom  he  confides,  and  on  whom  he  casts  all  his 
care.     It  is  to  expect  all  good  to  come  to  ue 


SPENDING   THE    DAY.  41 

fi-om  God  that  he  shall  deem  expedient  and  best 
to  bestow  upon  us.  Thus  David  explains  the 
matter:  "My  soul,  wait  thou  only  upon  God, 
for  my  expectation  is  from  him,"  Psa.  62  :  5  ; 
that  is,  to  no  other  (independently  of  him)  do 
I  look  for  the  good  I  need,  for  I  know  that 
every  creature  is  that  to  me,  and  no  more  than 
he  makes  it  to  be.  And  our  exj^ectations  from 
God,  as  far  as  they  are  guided  by  and  grounded 
upon  his  word,  ought  to  be  humbly  confident. 
The  eyes  of  all  wait  upon  him,  for  he  is  good  to 
all;  but  especially  may  his  saints  direct  their 
eyes  to  him,  for  he  is  in  a  peculiar  manner  and 
degree  good  to  Israel. 

4.  To  wait  upon  God  is  to  live  a  life  of  devoted- 
ness  to  him,  as  the  servant  waits  on  his  master, 
to  learn  his  will,  and  to  do  his  work,  and  to 
advance  his  honor  and  interest.  To  wait  on 
God  is  to  yield  ourselves  cheerfully  to  his  dis- 
posal and  guidance,  and  to  acquiesce  in  his 
arrangements  respecting  us.  We  should  have 
such  supreme  regard  for  him,  such  confidence  in 
his  wisdom,  equity,  and  goodness,  such  a  sense 
of  our  dependence  and  obligation,  as  to  resolve 
our  own  will  into  his,  and  to  accommodate  our 
own  will  to  his.     As  the  eyes  of  a  servant  are  to 


42      DAILY   COMMUNION  WITH  GOD. 

tlie  hand  of  his  master,  and  as  the  eyes  of  a 
maiden  to  the  hand  of  her  mistress,  so  must  our 
eyes  wait  upon  the  Lord,  to  do  what  he  appoints, 
to  take  what  he  apportions  to  us.  "  Thy  will  be 
done."  "Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do?" 
In  like  manner,  the  glory  of  God  is  to  be  con- 
sulted ;  we  are  to  do  him  honor.  This  is  the 
part  of  a  faithful  servant. 

The  ivill  of  God,  therefore,  is  to  be  our  rule  of 
action  every  day. 

We  must  w^ait  on  him  to  receive  his  com- 
mands, as  recorded  in  the  Scriptures,  with  a 
resolution  to  comply  with  them,  although  they 
may  contradict  our  corrupt  inchnations,  or  in- 
terfere with  our  secular  interests. 

We  are  to  make  the  will  of  God,  as  shown  in 
his  providence,  the  rule  of  our  patience.  We 
know  it  is  God  who  performs  all  things  for  us, 
and  should  be  assured  that  all  he  does  shall  be 
made  to  work  for  good  to  those  who  love  him ; 
and  in  order  to  that,  we  ought  to  acquiesce  in 
and  accommodate  ourselves  to  the  entire  will  of 
God.  To  wait  on  the  Lord  is  to  say,  "  Let  him 
do  to  me  as  seemeth  good  to  him ;"  because  we 
know  that  nothing  seemeth  good  to  him  that  is 
not  really  good.     It  is  to  say,  "Not  as  I  will, 


SPENDING   THE   DAY.  43 

but  as  thou  wilt."  It  is  to  bring  our  mind  into 
accordance  with  our  condition,  so  as  to  be  calm 
and  serene,  whatever  may  occur  that  is  fitted  to 
render  us  uneasy.  "  I  was  dumb  ;  I  opened  not 
my  mouth ;"  not  because  it  was  of  no  use  to 
complain,  but  "because  Thou  didst  it,"  and 
therefore  I  had  no  reason  to  complain.  And 
this  sentiment,  this  state  of  mind,  will  reconcile 
us  to  every  affliction,  to  one  as  well  as  to  an- 
other ;  because,  whatever  it  may  be,  it  is  the 
will  of  God,  and  that  is  ever  determined  by 
supreme  wisdom  and  goodness.  "Whatever  dis- 
position God  shall  make  of  us  or  of  our  affairs, 
we  may  be  assured  that  as  he  does  us  no  wrong, 
so  he  means  no  injury  to  us. 

*'Thy  way,  uot  mine,  O  Lord, 
However  dark  it  be  ! 
Lead  me  by  thine  own  faithful  hand, 
Choose  out  the  path  for  me. 

"Smooth  let  it  be  or  rough, 
It  will  be  still  the  best. 
Winding  or  straight,  it  matters  not, 
It  leads  me  to  thy  rest. 

"I  dare  uot  choose  my  lot ; 
I  would  not  if  I  might ; 
Choose  thou  for  me,  my  gracious  God, 
So  shall  I  walk  aright. 


4:4:      DAILY   COMMUNION   WITH   GOD. 

"The  kingdom  that  I  seek 
Is  thine  ;  so  let  the  way 
That  leads  to  it  be  truly  thine, 
Else  I  must  surely  stray."  bonab. 

The  duty  of  waiting  upon  God  might  be  illus- 
trated by  referring  to  various  other  expressions 
of  Holy  Scripture  that  describe  the  homage 
which  we  owe  to  God,  and  the  communion  which 
it  is  our  interest  to  maintain  with  him. 

It  is  to  set  God  always  before  us,  (Psa.  16  :  8  ;) 
to  look  upon  him  as  ever  near  to  us,  as  always 
observing  us  and  noticing  what  we  do,  as  one  to 
whom  we  are  accountable. 

It  is  to  acknowledge  him  in  all  our  ways, 
(Prov.  3:6;)  to  look  to  him,  in  all  our  under- 
takings, for  direction  and  success  ;  to  commit 
our  way  to  him,  saying,  "  If  thy  presence  go  not 
up  with  us,  carry  us  not  up  hence  ;"  to  notice 
his  kind  hand  in  all  the  comforts  dispensed  to 
us,  and  in  all  the  crosses  laid  upon  us  ;  to  bless 
the  name  of  the  Lord,  both  when  he  gives  and 
when  he  takes. 

Having  thus  explained  what  is  to  be  under- 
stood by  waiting  upon  God,  it  is  now  to  be 
shown  that  this  must  be  our  practice  every  day, 
and  aU  the  day  long. 


SPENDING   THE   DAY.  45 

We  must  wait  on  God  every  day ;  oii  Sabbath 
days  not  only,  but  on  week  days.  The  Lord's 
day  is  especially  to  be  devoted  to  waiting  upon 
God,  in  the  sanctuary,  in  the  family,  in  the 
closet ;  but  on  all  other  days  also  it  is  our  duty 
and  our  interest  to  wait  upon  him.  Every  day 
of  the  week,  as  well  as  on  the  Sabbath,  we 
stand  in  need  of  the  Divine  mercies  that  are  to 
be  thus  secured,  and  have  work  to  do  for  God 
in  which  his  assistance  is  thus  to  be  sought. 
Indeed,  our  waiting  upon  him  during  the  first 
day  of  the  week  is  adapted  and  designed  to  fit 
us  for  communion  with  him  during  the  other 
dnjs  thereof  ;  so  that  we  do  not  really  fulfil  the 
design  of  the  Sabbath  unless  the  spiritual  im- 
pressions then  received  abide  with  us,  and  reg- 
ulate our  minds  and  hearts  in  all  the  business 
and  trials  and  moral  dangers  of  the  week.  Thus 
fi'om  one  Sabbath  to  another  our  souls  are  to  be 
maintained  in  a  proper  Christian  state.  We 
must  be  so  "in  the  Spirit"  on  the  Lord's  day, 
as  to  "walk  in  the  Spirit"  all  the  week. 

Evei.,  when  engaged  in  the  details  of  some 
worldly  business,  our  hearts  may  be  waiting 
upon  God  by  cherishing  an  habitual  regard  to 
him — to  his  providence  as  our  guide,  and  to  his 


46      DAILY   COMMUNION   WITH  GOD. 

glory  as  our  end  ;  and  thus  we  may  abide  with 
him  in  our  ordinary  worldly  pursuits  and  voca- 
tion. Even  those  who  rise  up  early,  and  sit  up 
late,  and  eat  the  bread  of  carefulness  in  their 
worldly  business,  owe  it  to  their  interest  as  well 
as  piety  to  wait  on  God,  because  otherwise 
their  labor  may  be  in  vain.     Psa.  127  : 1,  2. 

' '  Vain  were  all  our  toil  and  labor, 
Did  not  God  that  labor  bless  ; 
Vain,  without  his  gi-ace  and  favor, 
Every  talent  we  possess."  lyte. 

Even  on  those  days  when  ordinary  business  is 
laid  aside,  and  we  give  ourselves  to  agreeable 
recreation,  this  business  of  waiting  on  God  must 
not  be  laid  aside  ;  for  he  must  ever  hold  the  first 
place  in  our  regard,  and  we  require  his  contin- 
ual aid  to  guard  us  against  the  temptations 
which  ma}^  cluster  in  the  paths  of  social  or  of 
personal  enjoyment. 

Both  in  daj'S  of  prosperity  and  adversity  alike 
is  it  our  duty  and  our  interest  to  wait  upon  our 
God.  Let  our  wealth  be  ever  so  increased,  we 
are  not  thereby  rendered  independent  of  him. 
We  are  under  obligations  to  make  a  proper  use 
of  it  as  his  stewards.  We  are  to  ask  his  bless- 
ing on  what  we  have,  and  to  depend  on  his  gra- 


SPENDING    THE    DAY.  47 

cious  providence  for  the  continued  possession 
and  comfort  of  it.  It  is  also  requisite  that  we 
suppKcate  wisdom  and  grace  to  use  our  wealth, 
or  our  worldly  influence  from  all  sources,  for  the 
high  and  holy  purposes  which  our  Maker  had 
in  view  when  he  led  us  into  our  present  posses- 
sions. Aware  also  of  the  precarious  tenure  by 
which  we  hold  worldly  goods  of  any  sort,  it  be- 
hooves us  to  wait  upon  our  God  for  better 
things  than  this  world  affords  even  to  the  most 
favored. 

And  when  the  world  frowns  upon  us,  and  dis- 
appointments arise,  and  affictions  assail  our 
comfort  and  our  peace,  we  must  not  thereby  be 
tempted  to  withdraw  ourselves  from  the  good 
habit  of  waiting  upon  God.  One  grand  design, 
we  may  suppose,  of  afflictions,  is  to  bring  us 
more  frequently  and  closely  to  the  throne  of 
grace,  to  teach  us  how  to  pray  with  a  more 
childlike  and  humble  spirit,  and  to  make  the 
word  of  God  more  precious  in  our  estimation 
and  more  beneficial  to  our  souls.  Then  we  are 
taught  to  approach  our  God  with  greater  satis- 
faction than  ever,  as  the  God  of  hope,  of  conso- 
lation, and  of  joy.  Then  we  are  led  to  appreci- 
ate our  Saviour  as  the  gi*eat  High  Priest  who  is 


48       DAILY   COMMUNION   WITH    GOD. 

touched  witli  our  infirmities,  and  regards  our 

troubles  and  oui'  griefs  with  godlike  sympathy. 

"More  moulded  to  thy  will, 
Lord,  let  thy  servant  be. 
Higher  and  higher  still, 
Liker  and  liker  thee. 

"Leave  naught  that  is  unmeet ; 

Of  all  that  is  mine  own 

Strip  me  ;  and  so  complete 

My  training  for  the  throne. "  bonar. 

In  the  days  of  youth  and  in  the  days  of  old 
age  alike,  it  is  fitting  and  wise  to  wait  upon 
God.  The  Scriptures  set  before  us  the  beauti- 
ful picture  of  the  child  Samuel  ministering  to 
the  Lord ;  and  they  describe  to  us  that  mem- 
orable scene  near  Jerusalem,  when  our  Saviour 
was  delighted  with  the  joyous  hosannahs  of  the 
children,  during  his  triumphal  entrance  into 
that  devoted  city.  The  more  early  in  life  we 
begin  to  wait  upon  God,  the  more  honor  we  put 
upon  him,  and  the  greater  benefit  we  procure  to 
ourselves.  And  when  old  age  ajDproaches,  we 
are  concerned  to  continue  our  waiting  upon 
him  for  support  and  comfort  under  its  ever- 
increasing  infirmities,  and  for  a  more  abundant 
entrance,  to  be  daily  expected,  into  his  everlast- 
ing kingdom  and  glory.      Those  who  have  done 


SPENDING   THE   DAY.  49 

the  will  of  God,  and  are  no  longer  capable  of 
laborious  exertion  in  his  service,  have  need  of  a 
graceful  patience  in  waiting  for  the  time  of  in- 
heriting the  promises ;  and  the  nearer  they 
approach  to  the  happiness  they  are  waiting  for, 
the  dearer  to  them  should  be  that  gi'acious  and 
glorious  God  on  whom  they  wait,  and  with 
whom  shortly  they  hope  to  dwell  in  heaven,  and 
that  for  ever. 

Having  shown  how  and  why  we  should  wait 
on  our  God  every  day,  the  next  point  is  to  show 
that  we  are  to  wait  upon  him  all  the  day. 

From  early  morning  to  latest  night  we  must 
continue  waiting  upon  God.  Whatever  changes 
of  employment  there  may  be  in  the  course  of 
the  day,  it  must  be  the  invariable  attitude  of 
our  souls  to  attend  upon  him,  and  to  regard  his 
will  and  his  glory  in  whatever  we  undertake  and 
pursue. 

1.  We  must  cast  our  daily  cares  upon  him,  be- 
lieving that  his  providence  extends  to  all  our 
affairs,  and  to  all  events  in  which  we  shall  be 
concerned,  and  to  all  the  circumstances  of  them, 
however  minute  and  seemingly  accidental.  We 
are  to  beheve   his  gracious  promise   that   aU 

Daily  CommuQion.  4: 


50      DAILY    COMMUNION   WITH   GOD. 

things  shall  work  together  for  good  to  those 
who  love  him,  and  then  to  yield  ourselves  to  him, 
to  do  with  us  and  ours  as  may  seem  good  to  him  ; 
and  having  done  so,  then  to  rest  satisfied,  and 
resolve  to  abide  calmly  the  result.  We  are  to 
bring  our  cares  to  God  by  prayer  in  the  morn- 
ing— to  spread  them  before  him  ;  and  then  to 
make  it  appear  all  the  day,  by  the  composure 
and  cheerfulness  of  our  minds,  that  we  did 
leave  them  with  him,  as  Hannah  did,  who,  when 
she  had  pra3^ed,  went  away  and  did  eat,  and  wa» 
no  more  sad.     1  Sam.  1  :  18. 

2.  We  must  Ttianage  our  daily  business  for  him, 
with  an  eye  to  his  i^rovidence  that  placed  us  in 
the  situation  and  employment  to  which  we  are 
devoted,  and  with  an  eye  to  his  precept,  making 
dihgence  our  duty  ;  with  an  eye,  further,  to  his 
blessing,  as  that  which  is  needed  to  make  our 
occuj)ation  comfortable  and  productive ;  and, 
above  all,  with  an  eye  to  his  glory  as  our  high- 
est and  noblest  end.  This  dignifies  our  com- 
monest actions,  and  brings  them  into  a  sacred 
relation  to  God,  and  it  makes  them  more  pleas- 
ant to  ourselves.  If  Gains,  on  parting  with 
certain  friends,  accompanies  them  a  short  way 
upon  their  journey,  (3  John,  ver.  6,)  it  is  but  an 


SPENDING  THE    DAY.  51 

instance  of  common  civility  ;  but  if  lie  manifests 
this  respect  to  them  because  they  belong  to 
Christ,  and  for  his  sake,  and  further,  that  he 
may  have  religious  intercoui'se  with  them  for  a 
longer  period,  it  then  becomes  an  act  of  Chris- 
tian virtue.  The  apostle  Paul  has  given  us  this 
general  rule,  applicable  to  every  day,  and  to 
every  hour  of  the  day  :  *'  Whatsoever  ye  do  in 
word  or  deed,  do  all  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,"  (Col.  3  :  17 ;)  and  thus,  through  the 
Mediator,  we  wait  on  our  God,  and  find  accept- 
ance with  him.  They  who  serve  in  households, 
or  in  other  capacities,  are  instructed  how  to 
wait  on  the  Lord  in  their  common  employments. 
See  Eph.  6:5-8;  Col.  3  ;  22-24. 

3.  We  viust  loait  on  God  as  our  daily  Benefactor, 
look  to  him  for  our  daily  bread,  for  all  the  com- 
forts and  accommodations  of  our  earthly  state, 
and  for  his  blessing  so  to  rest  upon  them  that 
our  health,  happiness,  and  usefulness  may  be 
subserved.  No  inducement  to  honesty  and 
fidelity  and  moderation  can  be  stronger,  than 
the  habit  of  regarding  God  as  the  source  of 
what  we  possess,  to  whom  we  are  strictly  ac- 
countable as  stewards  for  the  right  use  of  all 
that  we  have.     It  is  not  once  a  week  that  we 


52      DAILY   COMMUNION   WITH   GOD. 

are  to  wait  upon  him  for  our  temporal  blessings, 
as  people  in  some  places  go  to  market  to  buy 
provisions  for  the  whole  week,  but  we  must  wait 
upon  him  continually,  as  dependent  on  him  for 
the  blessings  which  are  conveyed  to  us  every 
successive  hour. 

4.  The  temptations  of  every  day  are  to  he  resist- 
ed, and  the  duties  of  every  day  are  to  be  undertaken 
in  reliance  upon  divine  grace  for  the  strength  which 
is  required.  Our  Master  has  taught  us  to  pray 
not  only  for  our  daily  bread,  but  for  deliverance 
daily  from  temptation.  We  engage  in  no  busi- 
ness, we  partake  of  no  enjoyments,  that  have 
not  snares  attending  them.  Not  only  in  the 
morning  must  we  put  ourselves  under  the  pro- 
tection of  God's  grace,  but  through  all  the  day 
we  must  keep  ourselves  under  the  shelter  of 
that  grace,  which  will  not  suffer  us  to  be  tempt- 
ed above  our  ability  to  resist  and  to  overcome. 
Only  in  the  Lord,  and  in  the  power  of  his  might, 
can  we  be  sufficiently  strong. 

Again,  we  have  various  duties  to  perform. 
Opportunities  will  occur,  or  should  be  sought, 
for  speaking  good  words  and  doing  good  works, 
and  we  must  look  up  to  God  for  that  light  and 
fire,  that  wisdom  and  zeal  which  are  needful  for 


SPENDING   THE    DAY.  63 

the  best  improvement  of  such  opportunities  ; 
and  to  the  same  source  must  we  look,  in  order 
to  be  fortified  against  the  use  of  words  and  the 
doing  of  works,  that  are  bad  and  injurious. 

5.  Daily  afflictions  must  he  home  with  a  pious 
suhmission  to  the  Divine  will.  Something  may 
happen  each  day  to  grieve  us,  something  in  our 
social  or  domestic  intercourse,  something  in  our 
occupations.  Events  relating  to  ourselves,  or 
to  our  famihes,  or  friends,  may  occasion  pain 
and  sorrow;  we  may  be  called  to  endure  the 
visitations  of  bodily  disease  and  suffering,  or 
severe  disappointment  in  some  cherished  object 
or  pursuit.  But  Christ  requires  of  all  his  disci- 
ples to  take  up  their  cross  daily.  Mat.  16:24. 
"We  must  take  it  up  when  God  lays  it  in  our 
way,  and  not  go  a  step  out  of  the  path  of  duty 
either  to  meet  it  or  to  avoid  it.  It  is  not 
enough  to  bear  the  cross  ;  we  must  acquiesce  in 
the  will  of  God  laying  it  upon  us.         * 

We  must  see  that  every  affliction  is  allotted  to 
us  by  our  heavenly  Father,  and  for  the  purpose 
of  salutary  discipline  and  instruction ;  and 
therefore  we  must  wait  on  him  to  learn  for 
what  fault  or  omission  of  duty  he  is  chastening 
us,  that  we  may  fulfil  the  end  for  which  the 


54       DAILY   COMMUNION   WITH   GOD. 

affliction  lias  been  sent,  and  so  be  made  parta- 
kers of  the  holiness  he  would  thereby  produce 
in  us. 

**  Oh,  thou,  whose  gently  chastening  hand 
In  mercy  deals  the  blow. 
Make  but  thy  servant  understand 
Wherefore  thou  layest  me  low ! 

*'  I  ask  thee  not  the  rod  to  spare 
While  thus  thy  love  I  see  ; 
But  oh  !  let  every  suffering  bear 
Some  message,  Lord,  from  thee !" 

We  lAiist  wait  on  God  for  support  under  the 
burdens  he  imposes,  and  not  seek  to  extricate 
ourselves  by  any  sinful  methods ;  but  patient- 
ly wait  until  God  shall  see  fit  to  remove  them 
by  the  use  on  our  part  of  proper  efforts. 

6.  The  tidings  and  events  of  every  day  are  to 
he  awaited  icith  a  cheerful  resignation  to  Divine 
Providence.  "We  know  not  what  a  day,  or  an 
hour  even,  may  bring  forth,  (Prov.  27:1,)  and 
we  are  too  apt  to  spend  our  thoughts  in  fi'uit- 
less  imaginings  concerning  the  probabihties  of 
the  future  in  this  life.  Are  we  expecting  good 
tidings  ?  Let  us  wait  on  God  as  the  giver  of  the 
good  we  hope  for,  and  be  ready  to  accept  it 
gratefully  from  his  hand.     What  God  has  prom- 


FIENDING    THE   DAY.  55 

ised  us,  we  may  with  assurance  promise  our- 
selves, and  no  more.  Our  hopes  in  reference  to 
other  matters  must  be  humble  and  modest,  and 
regulated  by  his  will,  so  that  if  the  hope  is  de- 
ferred or  disapiDointed  the  heart  will  not  be 
cast  down.  Are  we  apprehending  evil  tidings 
and  melancholy  events  ?  We  may  wait  on  God 
to  deliver  us  fi'om  our  fears,  and  from  the  things 
which  we  fear  will  come  upon  us,  (Psa.  34:4,) 
or  to  support  us,  should  our  prayer  in  this  re- 
gard be  unanswered.  Are  we  in  suspense  be- 
tween hope  and  fear  ?  Let  us  wait  on  God  to 
whom  belong  the  issues  of  Hfe  and  of  death, 
good  and  evil,  and  thus  compose  our  minds  into 
a  calm  and  resigned  posture,  with  a  humble 
pui'pose  to  accommodate  ourselves  to  the  event. 
Let  us  humbly  hope  for  the  best,  but  prepare 
for  the  worst,  and  then  accept  what  God  may 
be  pleased  to  send. 

"Be  tranquil,  oh,  my  soul, 
Be  quiet  every  fear  ! 
Thy  Father  hath  supreme  control, 
And  he  is  ever  near. 

"  Ne'er  of  thy  lot  complain. 
Whatever  may  befall ; 
Sickness  or  sorrow,  care  or  pain, 
T  is  well-appointed  all. 


56      DAILY  COMMUNION   WITH  GOD. 

"  A  Father's  chastening  hand 
Is  leading  thee  along  ; 
Nor  distant  is  the  promised  land, 
Where  swells  th'  immortal  song. 

•'  Oh,  then,  my  soul,  be  still ! 
Await  heaven's  high  decree  ; 
Seek  but  to  do  thy  Father's  will, 

It  shall  be  well  with  thee."  Hastings. 


COMMUNION   WITH   GOD  IN   VAKIOUS   SITUA- 
TIONS. 

1.  In  the  family.  When  we  meet  the  members 
of  the  family  in  the  morning,  we  are  to  wait 
upon  God  for  the  bestowment  of  his  blessing 
upon  them,  and  to  thank  him  for  the  mercies 
experienced  by  them  during  the  night,  and  to 
implore  the  bestowment  of  what  may  be  needful 
in  the  future.  In  all  our  conversation  with  our 
families,  the  provision  we  make  for  them,  and 
the  arrangements  we  adopt,  we  must  wait  upon 
God  as  the  God  of  the  families  of  Israel,  and 
have  our  eyes  hfted  to  Christ  as  the  One  in 
whom  alone  the  famihes  of  the  earth  are 
ble3sed. 

2.  In  the  education  of  a  family,  we  need  to  ask 
counsel  and  assistance  from  God,  and  a  divine 


SPENDING   THE   DAY.  57 

blessing  upon  our  efforts  and  upon  the  corre- 
sponding efforts  of  our  children,  not  only  in 
those  matters  which  pertain  to  godliness  and 
salvation,  but  even  in  those  which  belong  to  the 
present  life.  The  members  of  the  family,  also, 
that  are  in  childhood  or  youth,  should  be  taught 
to  wait  on  God  in  all  their  daily  studies  and  ef- 
forts at  improvement,  that  they  may  fit  them- 
selves for  usefulness  in  life,  become  ornaments 
to  their  families,  comforts  to  their  parents,  ben- 
efactors to  their  country  and  to  the  world. 

3.  In  our  places  of  daily  business,  we  are  to 
wait  on  God  for  his  presence  and  blessing.  Our 
attendance  on  God  in  our  several  callings  should 
be  as  constant  as  our  attendance  upon  those 
caUings.  God's  providence  is  to  be  observed  in 
all  the  occurrences  which  we  there  meet  with. 
It  should  be  a  frequent  thought,  "  I  am  now  in 
the  way  of  my  duty,  and  I  depend  upon  God  to 
bless  me  in  it."  When  bmdng  or  selHng,  we 
are  to  remember  that  God's  eye  is  upon  us,  ob- 
serving whether  we  are  just  and  honest  in  our 
dealings,  and  do  no  wrong  to  those  we  deal 
with.  In  all  business  operations,  it  honors  God 
to  look  to  him  for  that  sagacity  and  prudence 
which  lead  to  success,  and  for  that  honest  profit 


58      DAILY   COMMUNION   WITH   GOD. 

whicli  may  be  expected  in  the  way  of  honest  dil- 
igence. 

4.  In  our  reading,  we  are  to  wait  on  God  to 
guide  us  in  our  selection  of  books  or  periodicals, 
and  to  aid  us  in  turning  them  to  a  profitable  ac- 
count. The  Holy  Scriptures  are  of  course  to 
occupy  a  portion  of  each  day's  reading  matter, 
both  alone  and  with  our  famihes  ;  and  we  need 
to  wait  upon  God  to  assist  us  so  to  read  and 
meditate  upon  them  and  appty  them,  as  to  de- 
rive the  largest  benefit  m  the  way  of  rehgious 
impression  and  impulse.  Time  is  too  precious, 
and  our  accountability  to  God  for  the  proper 
use  of  it  too  solemn,  to  permit  us  to  waste  it  in 
fi'ivolous,  unprofitable,  or  demorahzing  reading. 
When  history  is  read,  or  even  the  daily  papers, 
so  far  as  they  report  events,  we  are  to  trace  the 
hand  of  God's  providence,  and  devoutly  study 
the  plans  and  the  attributes  of  God  so  far  as 
daily  events  serve  to  illustrate  them. 

5.  At  our  tables,  we  are  to  recognize  God's 
bountiful  hand  in  spreading  them  with  various 
articles  of  nourishing  and  agreeable  food,  so  in- 
dispensable to  comfort,  health,  and  even  life. 
We  are  to  praise  him  for  the  health  and  social 
happiness   that   pervade    the  little   cii'cle   sur- 


SPENDING   THE   DAY.  59 

rouudiug  it.  We  are  to  restrain  ourselves  from 
all  undue  indulgence  of  appetite,  and  are  to  par- 
take of  food  with  such  moderation,  prudence,  and 
caution,  as  a  proper  care  for  health  and  useful- 
ness requires,  remembering  God's  high  com- 
mand, that  whether  w^e  eat  or  drink,  or  whatso- 
ever we  do,  we  are  to  do  all  to  the  glory  of  God. 

6.  In  our  social  visits,  made  or  received,  we 
are  to  wait  u^^on  God  with  thanksgiving  for 
valuable  friends  and  for  all  their  kind  offices  to 
us,  and  for  our  opportunities  to  reciprocate 
such  offices ;  also  for  comfortable  dwellings, 
with  their  various  appointments,  adapted  to  us 
and  to  our  friends. 

In  social  circles,  w^e  must  so  regulate  oui'  con- 
versation  that  it  shall  be  productive  of  good, 
and  not  of  harm,  to  our  friends  and  to  our- 
selves. We  need  wisdom  from  God,  to  render 
our  conversation  edifying,  and  such  as  may 
bring  honor  to  God  and  salvation  to  our  fellow- 
creatures — remembering  that  an  influence  goes 
forth  from  our  hps  of  great  importance,  and  for 
which  we  must  give  an  account  to  God.  It  is 
painful  and  humiliating  to  think  on  how  differ- 
ent a  plan  from  this  social  visits  and  conversa- 
tion are  most  generally  conducted. 


60      DAILY   COMMUNION   WITH   GOD. 

7.  In  acts  of  charity  to  the  poor  and  wretched, 
we  are  to  wait  on  God,  by  performing  those 
acts  as  unto  him ;  not  to  secure  praise  of  men, 
but  the  approbation  of  God ;  and  by  asking 
God  to  accept  what  we  do  for  the  good  of 
others,  as  done  in  obedience  to  his  will,  and 
from  love  to  his  creatures,  and  in  imitation  of 
his  benign  example.  We  are  also  bound  to  ask 
the  divine  blessing  upon  what  we  bestow  in 
charity,  or  in  the  grand  oj)erations  of  Christian 
benevolence,  that  it  may  promote  the  happiness 
of  those  for  whose  benefit  it  is  given.  To  such 
acts  the  Scriptures  hold  out  the  powerful  mo- 
tive, that  they  shall  be  recompensed  at  the  resur- 
rection of  the  just ;  na}^,  sooner,  for  they  speak 
of  it  as  bread  cast  upon  the  waters,  which  after 
many  days  we  shall  find  again. 

8.  In  inquiring  after  or  reading  the  public  news, 
we  are  to  wait  on  God.  We  are  to  do  it  with 
an  eye  to  him  as  governing  in  the  affaii's  of  men  ; 
we  are  to  maintain  an  habitual  concern  for  the 
interests  of  his  kingdom  in  the  world,  and  to 
observe  its  prosperity,  or  the  reverse.  We  are 
to  read  the  news,  not  simply  to  gratify  an  idle 
curiosity  or  to  pass  a  pleasant  hour,  but  that  we 
may  be  better  prepared  to  direct  our  prayers 


SPENDING  THE   DAY.  61 

and  our  praises,  and  to  regulate  our  own  con- 
duct in  reference  to  the  kingdom  of  God  and 
the  welfare  of  our  fellow-men.  It  would  greatly 
ennoble  and  make  more  highly  useful  the  read- 
ing of  the  papers,  both  secular  and  religious,  if 
we  should  regard  them  as  chronicles  of  the 
Divine  movements  in  the  affairs  of  our  world. 
They  would  thus  bring  us  into  communion  with 
God,  and  into  sympathy  with  the  grand  move- 
ments of  his  all-comprehensive  government.  If 
public  affairs  are  bright  and  pleasing,  there  is  a 
call  for  grateful  acknowledgment  to  the  Most 
High,  who  ruleth  in  the  affairs  of  men ;  if  they 
are  dark  and  threatening,  there  is  a  demand  for 
humble  prostration  before  him,  in  the  confession 
of  sin  and  ill-desert,  and  in  the  supphcation  of 
mercy  to  avert  impending  evils. 

9.  In  reference  to  the  prosecution  of  a  journey , 
it  is  proper  to  wait  upon  God,  to  put  ourselves 
under  his  protection,  to  depend  on  him  to  give 
his  angels  charge  of  us,  that  we  may  be  carried 
safely  through  all  the  perils  of  the  way.  It  is 
proper  also  to  give  thanks  to  God  for  providing 
us  in  this  country  with  such  uncommon  facihties 
for  agreeable  and  expeditious  travel,  so  different 
fi'om  what  was  enjoyed  a  third  of  a  century  ago. 


62       DAILY    COMMUNION   WITH   GOD. 

We  must  have  our  eyes  uplifted  to  God  in  our 
setting  out  and  on  our  way,  tliat  we  may  be 
prepared  for  all  the  events  of  the  journey,  and 
if  it  reach  a  prosperous  issue,  have  our  hearts 
overflomng  with  gratitude  and  praise  to  our 
great  Preserver. 

10.  In  the  hours  of  solitude,  when  communing 
with  our  own  hearts,  we  must  still  be  waiting 
upon  God.  AVhen  we  are  alone,  we  must  at  the 
same  time  not  be  alone,  but  we  must  seek  to 
have  the  Father  with  us,  and  we  must  commune 
with  him.  Even  in  solitude  we  shall  find  temp- 
tations that  are  to  be  guarded  against.  The 
Saviour  himself  was  most  strongly  tempted  by 
Satan  to  evil  in  a  lonely  wilderness.  But  in  sol- 
itude we  have  also  the  best  opportunity  for  de- 
vout reflection  and  contemplation,  if  we  under- 
stand the  method  of  improving  such  opportu- 
nity, so  that  we  ma}^  never  be  less  alone  than 
when  alone.  If  when  we  sit  alone,  withdrawn 
from  business  and  conversation,  we  have  but  the 
art,  or  rather  perhaps  the  heart,  to  fill  up  these 
vacant  minutes  with  pious  meditations  upon 
God  and  divine  things,  we  then  gather  up  the 
fragments  of  time  which  remain,  and  so  are  we 
found  waiting  on  God  all  the  day. 


SPENDING   THE    DAY.  63 

Such  a  life  of  communion  with  God  is  a  heav- 
en upon  earth.  It  is  doing  the  work  of  heaven 
and  the  will  of  God  as  they  do  it  who  are  in 
heaven.  It  is  a  foretaste  of  the  everlasting 
blessedness  of  heaven,  and  a  preparation  for  it. 

"  Oh,  talk  to  me  of  heaven  !  I  love 
To  hear  about  my  home  above  : 
For  there  doth  many  a  loved  one  dwell 
In  light  and  joy  ineffable. 
Oh,  tell  me  how  they  shine  and  sing, 
While  every  harp  rings  echoing, 
And  every  glad  and  tearless  eye 
Beams  like  the  bright  sun  gloriously. 
Tell  me  of  that  victorious  palm 

Each  hand  in  glory  beareth  ; 
Tell  me  of  that  celestial  calm 

Each  face  in  glory  weareth. 

"Oh,  happy,  happy  country,  where 

There  eutereth  not  a  sin  ; 
And  Death,  who  keeps  its  portals  fair, 

May  never  once  come  in. 
No  grief  can  change  their  day  to  night, 

The  darkness  of  that  land  is  light. 
Sorrow  and  sighing  God  has  sent 
Far  thence,  to  endless  banishment, 
And  never  more  may  one  dark  tear 

Bedim  their  burning  skies  ; 
For  every  one  they  shed  while  here 

In  fearful  agonies. 
Glitters  a  bright  and  dazzling  gem 
In  their  immortal  diadem."    Caroline  bowlks. 


64      DAILY   COMMUNION  WITH   GOD. 

SOME  FUKTHEK  DIKECTIONS  FOR  THUS  WAIT- 
ING ON  GOD  ALL  THE  DAY. 

1.  Observe  how  much  may  he  discovered  of  God 
in  created  objects  around  us :  of  his  wisdom  and 
vower  in  their  creation,  and  of  his  goodness  in  their 
serviceableness  to  us.  Look  upon  the  wonders 
and  the  comforts  that  surround  you,  and  let 
them  all  lead  you  to  Him  who  is  the  Fountain 
of  being  and  the  Giver  of  all  good.  All  our 
springs  are  in  him,  and  from  him  are  all  our 
streams.  It  is  said  to  have  been  a  custom  with 
the  pious  Jews  of  the  olden  time  to  give  to  God 
the  glory  of  whatever  delight  they  took  in  any 
creature.  Wlien  they  smelled  a  flower,  they 
said,  "  Blessed  be  He  that  gave  to  this  flower  its 
sweetness."  When  they  took  up  bread,  "Bless- 
ed be  He  that  appointed  bread  to  strengthen 
man's  heart."  Thus  may  we  taste  that  God  is 
gi'acious  in  everything  that  ministers  to  life  and 
comfort. 

2.  Consider  that  all  created  objects  are  nothing 
without  God.  The  more  we  discern  the  empti- 
ness of  the  world,  and  the  insufficiency  of  all  its 
enjoyments  to  make  us  happy,  the  more  closely 
wo  shall  cleave  to  God,  and  the  more  intimately 


SPENDING  THE   DAY.  65 

we  shall  hold  converse  with  him,  in  order  to  find 
in  him  that  satisfaction  which  in  vain  we  seek 
from  the  objects  of  sense. 

3.  Live  by  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  We 
cannot  with  any  proper  confidence  wait  upon 
God,  but  in  and  through  Jesus  as  our  Mediator, 
by  whom  alone  God  speaks  to  us  and  allows  us 
to  speak  to  him.  It  is  only  by  Christ  that  we 
have  access  to  God  and  success  in  prayer,  and 
therefore  we  must  make  mention  of  his  right- 
eousness, even  of  his  only.  We  must  exercise 
an  habitual  dependence  on  him  who  always  ap- 
pears in  the  presence  of  God  for  us. 

4.  Be  frequent  and  deeply  serious  in  pious  ejac- 
ulations. In  waiting  upon  God,  we  must  speak 
to  him  on  all  occasions,  even  briefly  and  when 
there  is  no  opportunity^  for  a  leng-thened  prayer. 
"Unto  thee,  O  Lord,"  says  David,  " do  I  hft  up 
my  soul !"  or,  to  thee  do  I  direct  it.  In  a  holy 
ejaculation,  we  should  supplicate  pardon  for  this 
sin,  strength  against  this  evil  tendency,  victory 
over  this  temptation,  and  it  shall  not  be  in  vain. 
This  is  to  pray  always  and  without  ceasing.  It 
is  not  the  length,  but  the  right  sentiment  and 
emotion  and  purpose  of  the  prayer,  that  give  it 
acceptableness  and  value. 

Daily  Coramuniou.  5 


66      DAILY  COMMUNION   WITH  GOD. 

5.  Look  upon  every  day  as  one  that  may  be  the 
last  you  shall  have  to  spend  on  earth. 

Death  will  bring  us  all  to  God  to  be  judged 
by  him  ;  it  will  bring  all  the  saints  to  the  frui- 
tion of  him ;  and  the  One  we  are  hastening  to, 
and  hope  to  be  for  ever  with,  we  are  concerned 
to  wait  upon  and  to  gain  an  acquaintance  with. 
Communion  with  God  here  is  an  indispensable 
preparation  for  the  more  intimate  and  bhssful 
communion  which  we  hope  to  enjoy  with  him 
hereafter. 

•'  'T  is  not  for  man  to  trifle  !  lii"e  is  brief, 

And  sin  is  here. 
Our  age  is  but  the  falling  of  a  leaf, 

A  dropping  tear. 
We  have  no  time  to  sport  away  the  hours, 
All  must  be  earnest  in  a  world  like  ours. 

*'Not  many  lives,  but  onlj'  one  have  we — 

One,  only  one. 
How  sacred  should  that  one  life  ever  be — 

That  narrow  span  ! 
Day  after  day  filled  up  with  blessed  toil, 
Hour  after  hour  still  bringing  in  new  spoil ! 

"  O  life  below  !  how  brief,  and  poor,  and  sad — 

One  heavy  sigh ! 
O  life  above  !  how  long,  and  fair,  and  glad — 

An  endless  joy  ! 
Oh,  to  be  done  with  daily  dying  here  ; 
Oh,  to  begin  the  living  in  yon  sphere  !"    bonae. 


PART  III 


HOW 


S 


0  sgLOSE  THE  IBaY 


WITH  GOD. 


**  Sunlight  has  vanished,  and  the  weary  earth 
Lies  resting  from  a  long  day's  toil  and  pain, 
And  looking  for  a  new  dawn's  early  birth, 
Seeks  strength  in  slumber  for  its  toil  again. 

"  We  too  would  rest ;  but  ere  we  close  the  eye 
Upon  the  consciousness  of  waking  thought, 
Would  calmly  turn  it  to  yon  star-bright  sky. 
And  Hft  the  soul  to  Him  who  slumbers  not. 

"  Above  us  is  thy  hand  wdth  tender  care, 
Distilling  over  us  the  dew  of  sleep  ; 
Darkness  seems  loaded  with  oblivious  air, 
In  deep  forgetfulness  each  sense  to  steep. 

"  Thou  hast  provided  midnight's  hour  of  peace. 
Thou  stretchest  over  us  the  wing  of  rest ; 
With  more  than  all  a  parent's  tenderness, 
Foldest  us  sleeping  to  thy  gentle  breast, 

"  Grief  flies  away  ;  care  quits  our  easy  couch, 

Till,  wakened  by  thy  hand,  when  breaks  the  day — 
Like  the  lone  prophet  by  the  angel's  touch — 
We  rise  to  tread  again  our  j)ilgi-im-way. 

*'  God  of  our  life  !  God  of  each  day  and  night ! 
Oh,  keep  us  still  till  life's  short  race  is  run  ! 
Until  there  dawns  the  long,  long  day  of  light, 
That  knows  no  night,  yet  needs  no  star  nor  sun." 

BOXAB. 


HOW  TO  CONCLUDE 

THE 

DAY  WITH  GOD 


^T  will  be  to  our  advantage  to  refer  again  to 
%  the  example  of  the  spiritually-minded  psalm- 
ist and  king  of  Israel,  one  of  whose  psalms  con- 
tains this  language  :  "I  will  both  lay  me  down 
in  peace,  and  sleep  ;  for  thou,  Lord,  only  makest 
me  dwell  in  safety."    Psa.  4:8. 

David  having  finished  the  work  and  passed 
the  dangers  of  the  day,  having  counselled  his 
friends  around  him  (verses  4,  5)  to  commune 
with  their  own  hearts  upon  their  beds,  and  to 
offer  the  evening  sacrifices  of  righteousness, 
says  to  them  on  retiring,  "  I  will  lay  me  doxvn 
in  peace,  and  sleep."     He  concliides  the  day,  as 


72      DAILY   COMMUNION   WITH   GOD. 

he  had  opened  it,  with  meditations  on  God,  and 
sweet  communion  with  him. 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  above  language  was 
used  at  the  very  time  when  his  bitter  enemies 
were  seeking  his  destruction,  and  when  his  life 
was  eyideutly  in  peril ;  so  that  the  language  in- 
dicates a  subhme  confidence  in  God  as  his  great 
Protector  and  DeUverer,  and  also  an  uncommon 
serenity  of  mind,  and  fi'eedom  from  anxiety  and 
dread. 

These  words  may  be  adopted  in  reference  to 
ourselves  when  we  retire  to  rest ;  and  we  should 
take  care  so  to  conduct  ourselves  all  the  day, 
that  we  may  not  be  unfitted  for  the  right  per- 
formance of  our  evening  devotions.  If  we  fin- 
ish well  our  daily  work,  it  will  be  an  eai-nest  of 
our  finishing  our  life's  work  well. 

One  rule  for  closing  the  day  well,  is  to  keep 
good  hours ;  to  retire  in  good  season,  so  that 
we  may  rise  early,  and  make  the  most  of  Hfe. 

1.  When  ice  retire  to  our  rooms,  we  should  lift 
up  OUT  hearts  to  God,  the  God  of  our  mercies,  and 
make  him  the  object  of  our  adoring  and  most  grate- 
ful praise.  The  Jewish  evening  sacrifice  was  a 
sacrifice  of  praise.  The  mercies  of  the  day 
should  be  carefully  reviewed,  and  unusual  mer- 


CONCLUDING   THE   DAY.  73 

cies  should  be  especially  celebrated  in  our  words 
of  praise.  We  are  to  think  of  the  numberless 
calamities  we  have  been  preserved  or  delivered 
from,  and  of  the  various  forms  of  disease  or 
hurtful  accidents  to  which  we  might  have  fallen 
victims.  We  are  also  to  review  the  providential 
advantages  and  comforts,  personal  and  domes- 
tic, for  which  we  are  indebted  to  our  heavenly 
Father.  What  we  eat  and  drink,  what  we  wear, 
the  habitation  that  protects  us,  the  satisfaction 
derived  from  the  presence  of  endeared  relatives, 
all  the  success  that  may  have  been  attained  in 
the  labors  and  operations  of  the  past  day;  these 
and  other  benefits  are  to  be  considered  for  the 
purpose  of  awakening  grateful  praise  to  our 
Maker  and  Guardian  before  we  close  our  eyes 
in  slumber. 

Perhaps  the  day  may  not  have  passed  \\dthout 
some  painful  disappointment,  some  suffering  or 
affliction.  If  this  should  be  the  case,  our  hearts 
nevertheless  should  not  be  diverted  fi*om  the  oc- 
casion for  praise  to  God  that  is  furnished  in  the 
experience  of  the  day.  Moreover,  it  is  revealed 
to  us  as  our  duty  in  everything  to  give  thanks ; 
to  bless  the  name  of  the  Lord,  as  well  when  he 
takes  away,  as  when  he  gives,  for  our  afflictions 


74      DAILY  COMMUNION  WITH  GOD. 

are  all  deserved,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  our 
mercies  are  all  forfeited  on  account  of  our  sins. 

*•  Give  me  a  calm  and  thankful  heart, 
From  ever}'  murmur  free  ; 
The  blessings  of  thy  grace  impart, 
And  make  me  live  to  thee. 

•*  Let  the  sweet  hope  that  thou  art  mine 
My  life  and  death  attend  ; 
Thy  presence  through  my  journey  shine 
And  crown  my  journey's  end."         mrs.  Steele. 

We  have  reason  to  be  as  thankful  for  the  shad- 
ows of  the  evening  which  invite  us  to  our  re- 
pose, as  we  had  for  the  new  hght  of  the  morning 
to  favor  us  in  the  prosecution  of  our  worldly 
pursuits.  The  same  wisdom,  power,  and  good- 
ness which  make  the  outgoings  of  the  morning 
to  rejoice,  make  those  of  the  evening  to  do  like- 
wise. We  have  reason  to  be  as  thankful  that 
the  curtains  of  the  night  are  drawn  about  us  to 
favor  our  repose,  as  for  the  opening  of  the  eye- 
lids of  the  morning  upon  us  in  accommodation 
to  our  business.  When  God  divided  between 
the  hght  and  the  darkness,  and  allotted  to  both 
their  respective  periods,  he  saw  that  it  was  good 
it  should  be  so.  Let  us  therefore  give  thanks 
to  Him  who  forms  the  light  and  creates  the 


CONCLUDING  THE   DAY.  75 

darkness  ;  and  let  us  also  believe  that  the  dark- 
ness of  affliction  may  be  as  needful  for  us,  in  its 
season,  as  the  light  of  prosperity. 

"We  have  reason  to  be  thankful  if,  when  the 
season  for  repose  comes,  we  may  be  permitted  to 
lie  down,  and  are  not  obliged  to  sit  up,  through 
the  night.  Some  afflicted  persons  cannot  lie 
down,  in  consequence  of  painful  sickness.  Many 
are  prevented  from  lying  down  by  sickness  in 
their  famihes.  Many  are  kept  from  their  re- 
pose by  fear  of  enemies,  in  time  of  war  and 
disorder.  Let  us  be  duly  thankful,  then,  if 
neither  personal  illness,  nor  that  of  members  of 
the  household,  nor  danger  fi'om  without,  hinder 
us  from  the  needful  and  most  delightful  advan- 
tages of  undisturbed  and  healthful  slumbers  in 
the  night  season. 

2.  When  we  lie  doivn,  it  is  wise  to  think  of  death, 
and  of  the  great  change  to  ichich  that  event  shall  in- 
troduce us.  The  conclusion  of  each  day  sug- 
gests to  us  the  concluding  day  of  our  Hfe  on 
earth.  It  is  good  to  think  of  dying,  as  often  as 
we  go  to  our  beds.  It  will  help  to  subdue  in  us 
what  is  wrong ;  it  will  fortify  us  against  the 
temptations  of  the  world ;  it  will  diminish  our 
regard  for  its  possessions ;  it  will  reconcile  us 


76      DAILY  COMMUNION  WITH  GOD. 

to  our  discomforts  and  fatigues  ;  it  will  prepare 
us  to  leave  tlie  world  with  less  severe  regret ;  it 
will  tend  to  make  the  idea  of  death  so  familiar,^ 
and  our  views  of  it  so  Christian,  as  to  raise  us 
above  the  fear  of  that  event.  v. 

Let  us  think,  then,  of  our  putting  off  the  body  at 
death,  with  as  much  composure,  and  even  pleas- 
ure, as  we  do  of  putting  off  our  clothes  at  night; 
and  let  us  comfort  ourselves  with  this  thought, 
that  if  we  be  clothed  with  the  grace  and  righte- 
ousness of  Christ,  we  shall,  at  death,  be  clothed 
upon  with  immortahty.  In  due  time,  also,  we 
shall  be  invested  with  a  glorious  body  like  that 
of  Christ  himself,  as  a  substitute  for  the  vile 
body  that  falls  a  victim  to  death  and  becomes  a 
tenant  of  the  loathsome  grave. 

"No,  no,  it  is  not  cl3'ing 
To  go  unto  our  God  ; 
This  gloomy  earth  forsaking, 
Our  journey  homeward  taking 
.    Along  the  starry  road. 

"  No,  no,  it  is  not  dying 

To  wear  a  heavenly  crown  ; 
Among  God's  people  dwelling, 
The  glorious  triumph  swelling 

Of  him  whose  sway  we  own."  malan. 


CONCLUDING  THE   DAY.  77 

3.  When  ice  are  about  to  lie  doivn,  it  becomes  us 
to  make  penitent  reflections  upon  the  sins  and  omis- 
sions of  the  past  day.  While  we  rejoice  in  the 
Divine  goodness  that  has  furnished  the  mercies 
of  the  day,  we  are  not  to  overlook  the  inglori- 
ous return  which  we  have  made  for  them,  and 
we  should  exercise  therefore  a  becoming  peni- 
tence and  humiliation  before  our  God  and  Sav- 
iour. Though  we  may  have  endeavored  to  con- 
duct ourselves  according  to  the  rules  of  the 
gospel,  yet  a  careful  review  of  our  feelings, 
words  and  deeds,  will  show  us  that  we  have 
much  to  lament,  to  confess,  and  to  forsake.  It 
will  be  of  service,  with  this  end  in  view,  to  ask. 
What  have  I  done  this  day?  What  have  I  done 
amiss?  What  duty  have  I  neglected?  What 
false  step  have  I  taken  ?  How  have  I  conduct- 
ed myself  in  my  business,  in  my  social  inter- 
course, and  in  my  family?  Have  I  accommo- 
dated myself  to  the  will  of  God  in  every  event 
of  providence?  By  such  inquiries,  pursued 
every  night,  we  shall  make,  important  advances 
in  self-knowledge  and  in  Christian  rectitude. 

We  must  renew  our  repentance  for  whatever 
we  find  to  have  been  wrong  and  unchristian  in 
our  thoughts,  feelings,  and  actions ;  we  must  be 


78      DAILY  COMMUNION   WITH  GOD. 

truly  sorry  for  it,  and  humble  ourselves  on  ac- 
count of  it,  and  honor  God  by  confessing  the 
wrong  of  which  we  have  been  guilty,  whether  in 
reference  to  God  or  to  man.  Even  the  sins  of  daily 
infirmity,  and  the  defects  of  our  piety  and  mo- 
rality, should  be  lamented  and  confessed.  And 
repentance  should  not  be  deferred,  thus  harden- 
ing the  heart,  and  hindering  our  spiritual  growth 
and  comfort. 

Eepentance  must  be  followed  by  a  fi-esh  ap- 
plication for  pardon  of  the  sins  confessed  and 
repented  of,  through  the  blood  of  Christ.  Not 
only  have  we  need  of  Christ  for  this  purpose  at 
our  first  conversion  from  sin,  but  ever  after- 
wards, in  this  Hfe,  we  need  to  apply  to  him  as 
our  Advocate,  who  appears  for  us  in  the  presence 
of  the  Father,  to  procure  us  pardon  and  accept- 
ance. Not  quite  sufficient  is  it  to  employ  the 
general  prayer  of  the  publican,  "  God  be  mer- 
ciful to  me  a  sinner ;"  but  the  specific  sins  that 
rise  to  our  remembrance  should  be  presented  in 
our  prayer  for  pardon. 

*•  Deep  regret  for  follies  past, 

Talents  wasted,  time  misspent 
Hearts  debased  by  ^YOlidly  cares, 
Thankless  for  the  blessings  lent 


CONCLUDING  THE  DAY.  79 

*'  Foolish  fears  and  fond  desires, 
Vain  regrets  for  things  as  vain  ; 
Lips  too  seldom  taught  to  praise, 
Oft  to  murmur  and  complain  ; 

**  These  and  every  secret  fault, 

Filled  with  grief  and  shame  we  own ; 
Humbled  at  thy  feet  we  he, 
Seeking  pardon  from  thy  throne."    j.  taylor. 

4.  Before  we  yield  ourselves  to  repose^  we  should 
offer  supplications  for  the  needful  mercies  of  the 
night  before  us.  We  must  pray  that  our  bodies 
may  enjoy  the  care  of  God's  holy  angels,  who 
are  the  ministers  of  his  providence,  for  he  has 
promised  that  he  will  give  his  angels  charge 
concerning  those  who  make  the  Most  High 
their  refuge,  and  what  he  has  promised  we  may 
and  must  pray  for.  We  are  not  indeed  to  sup- 
pose that  he  needs  the  assistance  of  angels  to 
secure  our  well-being  through  the  night,  nor 
that  he  devolves  the  care  of  us  upon  them  ex- 
clusively ;  but  the  Scriptures  inform  us  that 
they  are  employed  about  the  people  of  God, 
though  they  are  invisible,  performing  this  ser- 
vice as  well  for  the  honor  of  God,  as  for  the 
honor  of  his  people.  Perhaps  they  preserve  us 
from  the  mischief  which  otherwise  we  might 
suffer  from  the  agency  of  malignant  spirits. 


80      DAILY   COMMUNION   WITH  GOD. 

We  must  also  pray  that  our  souls  may  enjoy 
the  influences  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  author 
and  fountain  of  all  grace.  We  learn  from  Job 
33:15,  16,  that  in  the  slumbers  of  the  night 
God  opens  the  ears  of  men  and  seals  instruc- 
tion. We  learn,  also,  that  David  so  found  it  in 
his  own  experience.  Psa.  16:7;  17:3.  He 
found  the  night  to  be  a  propitious  season  for 
remembering  God  and  meditating  upon  him. 
But  to  converse  profitably  with  God  in  soli- 
tude, we  need  the  benign  influences  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  to  which,  therefore,  we  should  submit 
and  consign  our  souls  when  we  he  down.  How 
God's  Spirit  may  work  upon  us  when  we  are 
asleep,  we  know  not»  The  soul  can  act  in  a 
state  of  separation  fi-om  the  body,  and  how  far 
it  does  act  independently  of  the  body  when  the 
bodily  senses  are  inactive,  we  cannot  say ;  but 
we  are  sure  that  the  Spirit  of  God  is  not  limit- 
ed to  our  wakeful  hours.  It  is  reasonable  to 
pray,  not  only  that  we  may  be  preserved  from 
disturbing  or  polluting  dreams,  (in  which,  for 
aught  we  know,  evil  spirits  may  have  an  agen- 
cy,) but  that  we  may  be  favored  with  good 
dreams — those  which  are  pleasing  and  instruc- 
tive. 


CONCLUDING   THE   DAY.  81 

•♦  Thus,  with  my  thoughts  composed  to  peace, 
I  give  mine  eyes  to  sleep  ; 
Thy  hand  in  safety  keeps  my  days, 
And  will  my  slumbers  keep. "  watts. 

n.  It  must  be  our  care  and  our  endeavor,  when 
we  lie  down,  to  do  so  ^^  in  peace" 

1.  In  peace  with  God.  If  this  has  not  been  se- 
cured, we  should  hasten  to  make  our  peace  with 
God  in  Jesus  Christ,  by  repentance  and  faith. 
There  should  be  no  delay ;  for  it  is  hazardous 
to  go  to  sleep  in  that  condition  in  which  we 
dare  not  die.  Sin  is  continually  making  mis- 
chief between  God  and  our  own  souls,  provo- 
king his  displeasure  against  us,  and  ahenating 
our  hearts  from  him,  so  that  there  is  need  every 
night  of  reestabhshing  a  state  of  peace,  by  the 
agency  of  his  Spirit  upon  us  and  by  our  own 
personal  reconciliation  to  God,  that  there  may 
be  no  conscious  distance,  no  strangeness  be- 
tween us  and  God,  no  interposing  cloud,  no  ob- 
struction in  our  way  to  the  mercy-seat.  Being 
justified  by  faith,  (Eom.  5: 1,)  we  have  this  peace 
with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Let 
it  be  our  daily  care,  that  God  have  no  quarrel 
with  us,  nor  we  with  him. 

2.  Let  us  lie  doivn  in  peace  with  all  men.    It  is 

Dally  Commauion.  O 


82      DAILY   COMMUNION   WITH   GOD. 

our  high  concern  to  go  to  sleep,  as  well  as  to. 
die,  in  charity.  Those  who  have  much  to  do 
with  the  world  can  scarcely  pass  a  day  without 
receiving  some  affront  or  injuiy,  and  when  they 
retire  at  night  there  is  danger  of  magnifying  the 
offence  by  dwelling  upon  it,  and  thus  of  stirring 
up  one's  self  to  undue  resentment,  which  may 
lead  to  a  purpose  of  revenge.  Now  is  the  time, 
therefore,  for  guarding  against  such  an  unhappy 
result.  If  others  are  inchned  to  quarrel  with 
us,  let  Us  resolve  that  we  wiU  not  engage  in  a 
quarrel  with  them  ;  but  wiU  subdue  aU  resentful 
and  malevolent  feehngs,  and  thus  avoid  doing 
VFTong  to  our  neighbor  or  to  ourselves.  The  apos- 
toHc  injunction  is,  "Let  not  the  sun  go  down 
upon  your  wrath,  neither  give  place  to  the 
devil."  We  cannot,  therefore,  lie  down  at  peace 
with  God,  unless  we  are  at  peace  with  men,  nor 
in  faith  pray  to  be  forgiven,  unless  we  forgive. 
Let  us,  then,  study  the  things  that  make  for 
peace ;  for  the  peace  of  our  own  spirits,  by  liv- 
ing, as  much  as  in  us  lies,  peaceably  with  aU 
men. 

3.  Let  us  lie  down  in  peace  with  ourselves — in  a 
quiet  serenity  of  spirit  and  self- enjoyment.  This 
will  be  achieved,  if  by  the  grace  of  God  we  have 


CONCLUDING   THE   DAY.  83 

in  some  good  measure  performed  the  work  of 
the  day,  and  filled  it  up  with  acts  of  duty  and 
of  usefulness  ;  if  our  hearts  are  not,  in  the  retro- 
spect, obliged  to  exclaim,  "I  have  lost  a  day," 
or,  what  is  worse,  if  they  do  not  reproach  us 
with  the  spending  of  that  time  in  sin  which 
should  have  been  spent  in  the  service  of  God. 
If,  on  the  contraiy,  we  have  passed  the  day  in 
the  fear  of  God,  and  waited  on  him  all  the  day 
long,  we  may  then  lie  down  in  peace,  and  the 
sleep  of  the  laborrug  man,  the  laboriug  Chris- 
tian, is  sweet.  He  can  say.  As  I  am  a  day's 
journey  nearer  my  end,  so  I  am  a  day's  work 
fitter  for  it.  Nothing  will  make  our  season  of 
repose  so  pleasant,  as  the  witness  of  the  Spirit 
of  God  with  our  spirits  that  we  are  going  for- 
ward towards  heaven,  and  a  conscience  kept 
void  of  offence,  which  will  be  not  only  a  contin- 
ual feast,  but  a  continual  rest. 

"Great  God,  let  all  my  hours  be  thine, 
While  I  enjoy  the  light ; 
Then  shall  my  sun  in  smiles  decline, 
And  bring  a  pleasant  night."  watts. 

Again  :  if  by  faith  and  patience,  and  resigna- 
tion to  the  Divine  will,  we  have  reconciled  our- 
selves to  all  the  events  of  the  day,  so  as  to  be 


84      DAILY   COMMUNION   WITH   GOD. 

uneasy  at  nothing  which  God  has  done,  we  may 
then  lie  down  in  peace  at  night.  We  may  have 
met  with  disappointments  or  losses  in  our  busi- 
ness, or  may  have  been  otherwise  tried,  but  we 
should  not  forget  that  these  events  proceed  from 
the  Lord,  and  that  which  pleases  him  ought  not 
to  displease  us. 

Further  :  upon  renewing  our  repentance  for 
sin,  and  making  a  fresh  application  to  the  blood 
of  Christ,  we  may  lay  us  down  in  peace. 

So  also,  if  we  have  put  ourselves  under  the 
Divine  protection  for  the  night  before  us.  If  by 
faith  and  prayer  we  have  made  the  Lord  our 
refuge  and  our  habitation,  we  may  then  speak 
peace  to  ourselves,  for  God  in  his  word  speaks 
peace  to  us. 

So  also,  if  besides  we  have  cast  all  our  cares 
for  the  day  following  upon  God.  Indulging 
anxious  thought  for  the  morrow  is  a  great  hin- 
drance to  peace  of  mind  and  quiet  slumbers 
dui'ing  the  night.  Let  us  but  learn  to  live  with- 
out corroding  care,  and  to  refer  the  issue  of  all 
events  to  that  God  who  may  and  can  do  what  he 
wills  to  do,  and  who  wills  to  do  what  is  best  for 
those  who  fear  and  trust  in  him,  saving,  "Fa- 
ther, thy  will  be  done!"  and  then  our  minds 


CONCLUDING    THE   DAY.  85 

shall  be  tranquil  and  happy.  Our  Saviour,  in 
his  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  presses  this  subject 
upon  his  disciples,  counselling  them  to  take  no 
anxious  thought  for  to-morrow,  assuring  them 
of  the  care  which  their  heavenly  Father  exer- 
cises over  them  and  their  daily  necessities. 

"  Then  comes  the  quiet  and  the  cool  of  night, 
To  give  me  back  the  calm,  of  which  the  light 
Of  this  gay  world  had  sought  me  to  bereare. 
O  gentle  shadows  of  the  tranquil  eve  ! 
Eve,  with  thy  stillness  and  soul-soothing  balm, 
What  do  I  owe  thee  for  thy  solemn  calm  ! 
Thou  comest  down  like  some  peace-bringing  dove, 
To  soothe  and  cheer  me  with  thy  silent  love. "    bonab. 

III.  Having  laid  ourselves  down  in  peace,  the 
next  thing  is  to  compose  ourselves  to  sleep.  "  I  will 
lay  me  down  and  sleep."  The  love  of  sleep  for 
the  sake  of  sleep  is  the  characteristic  of  the 
sluggard  ;  but  as  the  divinely-appointed  means 
of  recruiting  our  physical  energies — quite  as 
needful  as  food — we  are  to  employ  it  with  thank- 
fulness to  Him  who  "gives  his  beloved  sleep." 

With  such  REFLECTIONS  as  the  following  we 
may  yield  ourselves  to  sleep  : 

1.  What  frail  bodies  are  these,  which  so  often  call 
for  rest  and  relief  from  fatigue,  and  require  so 


86      DAILY   COMMUlNlON   WITH   GOD. 

large  a  proportion  of  our  time  to  recover  their 
strength  by  sleep ! 

2.  What  a  sad  thing  it  is  to  be  obliged  to  employ 
so  much  precious  time,  so  lanyge  a  portion  of  our  life 
in  sleep,  during  which  we  can  perform  no  act  of 
piety  towards  God,  nor  render  any  service  to  man  ! 
Those  who  consider  how  short  our  life  is,  and 
what  amount  of  work  we  have  to  do,  and  how 
rapidly  the  day  of  account  hastens  on,  cannot 
but  grudge  the  hours  that  must  be  spent  in 
sleep,  and  wish  to  employ  as  few  as  may  suffice 
for  purposes  of  health  and  vigor.  They  cannot 
avoid  being  urged  by  these  considerations  to  re- 
deem time  when  they  are  awake,  and  to  long  to 
be  transferred  to  that  world  where  there  shall 
be  no  need  of  sleep,  but  where  they  shall  be  as 
the  angels  of  Grod,  and  never  cease  praising  and 
otherwise  serving  God. 

3.  What  a  gracious  Master  we  serve,  icho  allows  us 
time  for  sleep,  and  furnishes  its  with  all  the  requi- 
site conveniences  for  it,  and  makes  it  to  us  so  refresh- 
ing and  so  grateful !  Thus  kindly  does  he  pro- 
vide for  our  bodies  ;  and  this  is  one  good  reason 
for  presenting  them  to  him  as  living  sacrifices. 
It  is  worthy  of  special  remark  that  sleep  is  spo- 
ken of  as  given  by  promise  to  the  saints  :  "  Lo  1 


CONCLUDING  THE   DA.Y.  87 

he  giveth  his  beloved  sleep."  Psalm  127  : 2. 
What  a  vast  difference  there  is  between  the  sleep 
of  an  unregenerate  man,  who  is  not  sensible  of 
his  being  within  a  step  of  hell,  and  the  sleep  of 
a  child  of  God,  who  has  good  hope,  through 
grace,  of  his  being  within  a  step  of  heaven. 
That  is  the  sleep  which  God  gives  to  his  be- 
loved. 

"When  each  day's  scenes  and  labors  close, 
And  wearied  nature  seeks  repose, 

With  pardoning  mercy  richly  blest, 
Guard  me,  my  Saviour,  while  I  rest ! 

And  as  each  morning  sun  shall  rise. 
Oh,  lead  me  onward  to  the  skies  ! 

♦'And  at  my  life's  last  setting  sun, 
My  conflicts  o'er,  my  labors  done, 

Jesus  !  thy  heavenly  radiance  shed. 
To  cheer  and  bless  my  dying  bed, 

And  from  death's  gloom  my  spirit  raise, 
To  see  thy  face  and  sing  thy  praise." 

SIR  R.  GRAKT. 

4.  How  sad  is  the  case  of  those  from  whose  eyes 
sleep  departs,  as  the  result  of  bodily  or  mental  suf- 
fering, and  to  whom  wearisome  nights  are  appoint- 
ed! When  we  consider  how  earnestly  nature 
longs  for  sleep,  and  how  much  refreshment  is 
derived  from  it,  we  should  regard  with  deep 
compassion,  and  remember  in  our  prayers,  those 


88      DAILY   COMMUNION   WITH  GOD. 

to  whom  that  and  other  comforts  possessed  by 
ourselves  are  denied. 

5.  How  ungrateful  are  we  to  the  God  of  the  night 
and  of  the  morning,  when  we  so  far  indulge  in  sleep, 
beyond  our  need  or  advantage,  as  to  make  it  a  hin- 
drance to  that  which  is  good  ;  as  when  it  keeps  us 
from  our  hour  of  prayer  and  devout  reading  in 
the  morning  or  in  the  evening. 

6.  We  have  now  one  day  less  to  live  than  we  had 
in  the  morning.  As  time  goes,  eternity  comes  ; 
we  are  hastening  on.  "What  preparation  have 
we  made  for  our  last  account,  to  be  given  so 
soon  ?  How^  should  the  thought  of  it  stimulate 
us  to  the  appropriate  use  of  our  time,  making 
our  sleep  not  the  less  desirable,  and  our  death 
much  the  less  formidable. 

"One  sweetly  solemn  thonglit 
Comes  to  me  oer  and  o'er  : 
I  am  nearer  home  to-day 

Than  I  ever  have  been  before  ; 

"Nearer  my  Father's  house, 

Where  the  many  mansions  be  ; 
Nearer  the  great  white  throne, 
Nearer  the  crystal  sea  ; 

"Nearer  the  bound  of  life, 

Where  we  lay  our  burdens  down  ; 
Nearer  leaving  the  cross. 

Nearer  qainiug  the  crown."  caret. 


CONCLUDING  THE   DAY.  89 

7.  To  thy  glory,  0  God,  I  now  go  to  sleep. 
Whether  we  eat,  or  di'ink,  yea,  or  sleep,  (for 
that  is  included  in  "  whatever  we  do,")  it  should 
be  done  to  the  glory  of  God.  Why  should  I  go 
to  sleep  now,  but  to  fit  my  body  to  be  the  instru- 
ment of  the  soul  in  the  service  of  God  to-mor- 
row ?  Thus  common  actions,  when  directed  to 
such  an  end,  assume  a  high  moral  character, 
and  gain  Di\ine  approval  and  reward. 

8.  To  thy  grace,  0  God,  I  now  commend  myself. 
It  is  good  to  fall  asleep  with  a  fresh  surrender  of 
our  whole  selves,  body,  soul,  and  spirit,  to  God, 
saying  "with  joy  and  with  gratitude,  '  Eeturn  to 
God  as  thy  rest,  O  my  soul ;  for  he  has  dealt 
bountifully  with  thee.'  Sleep  not  only  resembles 
death,  but  is  sometimes  the  introduction  to  it : 
many  yield  themselves  to  sleep  and  never  wake, 
but  pass  into  the  sleep  of  death.  This  furnishes 
a  good  reason  for  turning  our  thoughts  towards 
death,  and  for  committing  our  souls  to  the  Hv- 
ing  God,  so  that  sudden  death  during  the  ensu- 
ing night  should  be  no  surprise  or  detriment  to 
us. 

9.  Oh  that  when  I  awake  I  may  be  still  with  God  ; 
that  the  parenthesis  of  sleep,  though  long,  may  not 
break  off  the  thread  of  my  communion  with  God, 


90      DAILY   COMMUNION  WITH   GOD. 

but  that  I  may  resume  it  as  soon  as  I  awake  !  Oh 
that,  should  I  awake  in  the  night,  I  may  have 
my  mind  turned  to  good  thoughts  ;  may  remem- 
ber God,  who  then  is  at  my  right  hand,  and  to 
whom  the  darkness  and  the  Hght  are  both  ahke. 
Oh  that  thus  I  may  sweetly  meditate  upon  him 
in  the  night  watches,  so  that  the  time  may  be 
employed  to  the  highest  advantage  which  other- 
wise is  hable  to  be  lost  in  frivolous  thoughts,  or 
misspent  in  those  which  are  sinful.  Oh  that, 
when  I  awake  in  the  morning,  my  first  thoughts 
may  be  of  God,  and  thus  my  heart  be  prepared 
to  enter  properly  upon  the  business  and  trials 
of  the  day ! 

10.  Oh  that,  in  due  time,  I  may  he  introduced 
into  a  better  rest  than  that  which  I  am  now  about  to 
enjoy  !  The  apostle,  in  writing  to  the  Hebrews, 
(Heb.  4:3,  9,)  speaks  of  a  rest  which  we  that 
have  believed  do  enter  into,  even  in  this  world, 
as  weU  as  of  a  rest  which,  in  the  other  world, 
remains  for  the  people  of  God ;  a  rest  from  sin 
and  from  the  world  ;  a  rest  in  Christ  and  in 
God  through  Christ — a  satisfaction  in  the  bless- 
ings of  the  gospel  and  in  the  hopes  of  the  here- 
after. Oh  that  I  may  enjoy  this  rest  while  I 
live,  and  at  death  enter  into  something  more 


CONCLUDING   THE    DAY.  91 

than  rest — into  tlie  joy  of  my  Lord,  and  dwell  at 
his  right  hand,  where  there  are  pleasures  for 
evermore ! 

*' Earth's  joys  are  but  a  dream  ;  its  destiny 
Is  but  decay  and  death.     Its  fairest  form, 
Sunshine  and  shadow  mixed.     Its  brighest  day, 
A  rainbow  braided  on  the  wreaths  of  storm. 

"Yet  there  is  blessedness  that  change th  not ; 
A  rest  with  God,  a  life  that  cannot  die  ; 
A  better  portion  and  a  brighter  lot : 
A  home  with  Christ,  a  heritage  on  high. 

"The  tempest  makes  returning  calm  more  dear  ; 
The  darkest  midnight  makes  the  brightest  star ; 
Even  so  to  us,  when  all  is  ended  here, 
Shall  be  the  past  remembered  from  afar. 

"Then  welcome  change  and  death,  since  these  alone 
Can  break  life's  fetters  and  dissolve  its  speU  ; 
Welcome  all  present  change,  which  speeds  us  on 
So  swift  to  that  which  is  unchangeable."      bonar. 

IV.  We  must  do  all  that  has  now  been  suggested 
and  recommended  in  a  believing  dependence  upon 
God,  his  power,  providence,  and  grace.  Therefore 
"I  lay  me  down  in  peace,"  and  compose  myself 
to  sleep,  because  "thou,  Lord,  keepest  me." 
"Thou  makest  me  to  dwell  in  safety."  David 
takes  notice  (Psa.  139)  of  God's  compassing  his 
path  and  his  lying  down,  as  his  protector  and 
observer. 


02       DAILY    COMMUNION   WITH   GOD. 

1.  It  is  by  the  power  of  God's  providence  that  ive 
are  kept  safe  in  the  night,  and  on  that  providence  we 
must  rely  continually.  He  preserveth  man  and 
beast,  (Psa.  36  :  6,)  and  upholds  all  things  by 
the  word  of  his  power.  Death  would  soon  lay 
all  waste,  if  God  did  not  shelter  his  creatures 
from  the  arrows  of  death.  Our  bodies  carry 
about  with  them  the  seeds  of  disease,  and  a  slight 
derangement  of  their  functions  may  lead  to  sud- 
den death.  We  are  exposed  also  at  night  to 
the  designs  of  the  robber  or  the  incendiary,  and 
to  the  malice  of  evil  spirits.  Unseen  dangers 
may  be  near  us  in  those  unconscious  hours  when 
we  cannot  help  ourselves,  and  when  our  friends, 
alike  unconscious,  are  unable  to  assist  or  defend 
us.  When  Saul  was  asleep  he  lost  his  spear 
and  his  cruse  of  w^ater,  and  might  have  lost  also 
his  head,  as  easily  as  Sisera  did,  when  he  was 
asleep,  by  the  hand  of  a  woman.  There  is  a 
special  j)rotection  assured  to  God's  people,  (Psa. 
27 : 5  ;)  he  is  round  about  them,  as  the  moun- 
tains are  round  about  Jerusalem,  (Psa.  125  :  2. ) 
He  protects  their  habitations,  as  he  did  the 
tents  of  Israel  in  the  wilderness. 

The  care  of  Divine  providence  concerning  us 
and  our  families  we  are  to  depend  upon,  so  as  to 


CONCLUDING   THE   DAY.  93 

look  upon  no  provision  which  we  make  for  our 
safety  as  adequate,  without  the  blessing  of  the 
Divine  providence  upon  it.  "Except  the  Lord 
keep  the  city,  the  watchman  waketh  but  in  vam.'' 
Be  the  house  ever  so  well  built,  the  doors  and 
-windows  ever  so  well  barred,  the  servants  ever 
so  careful,  it  is  all  to  no  purpose,  unless  he  that 
keeps  Israel,  and  never  slumbers  or  sleeps,  un- 
dertake for  our  safety. 

2.  It  is  by  God's  grace  that  we  are  enabled  to  feel 
ourselves  safe,  and  on  that  grace  we  must  continually 
depend.  The  fear  of  danger,  even  when  ground- 
less, is  equally  vexatious  as  when  well-founded. 
And  therefore  it  is  important  that  by  the  gTace 
of  God  we  be  dehvered  from  our  fears,  as  well 
as  from  the  things  themselves  that  we  were 
afraid  of. 

Let  us  he  down  in  peace,  and  sleep,  not  in 
the  strength  of  a  natural  resolution  against  fear, 
nor  merely  of  rational  arguments  against  it, 
though  they  may  be  useful,  but  in  a  dependence 
on  the  gxace  of  God  to  work  faith  in  us,  and  to 
fulfil  in  us  the  work  of  faith.  This  is  going 
to  sleep  like  a  Christian,  under  the  shadow  of 
God's  wings,  going  to  sleep  in  faith ;  and  it  will 
be  to  us  a  good  pledge  of  dying  in  faith,  for  the 


94      DAILY   COMMUNION   WITH   GOD. 

same  faith  tliat  will  carry  us  cheerfully  through 
the  short  death  of  sleep,  will  caiTy  us  through 
the  long  sleep  of  death. 

••  I  close  my  heavy  eye — 

Saviour  ever  near ! 
I  lift  my  soul  on  high 

Through  the  darkness  drear. 
Be  thou  my  light,  I  cry, 

Saviour  ever  dear! 

•*  I  feel  thine  arms  around, 

Saviour  ever  near; 
With  thee  let  me  be  found. 

So  shall  I  never  fear, 
Whatever  ill  abounds — 

Saviour  ever  dear ! 

"  Thine  is  the  day  and  night, 

Saviour  ever  near ; 
Thine  is  the  dark  and  light — 

Be  thou  my  covert  here  ; 
Oh  shield  me  with  thy  might. 

Saviour  ever  dear ! 

"  And  when  I  come  to  die, 

Saviour  ever  near, 
Receive  my  parting  sigh  ; 

And,  in  the  hour  of  fear, 
Be  to  my  spirit  nigh. 

Saviour  ever  dear  !"  bonar. 


Application. 


APPLICATION. 


1.  We  discover  how  much  it  is  our  concern  to 
carry  our  religion  with  us  wherever  we  go,  and  to 
have  it  always  at  our  right  hand.  At  every  turn 
we  have  occasion  for  it — on  lying  down,  when 
rising  up,  going  out,  coming  in ;  and  those  are 
Christians  indeed  who  confine  not  their  rehgion 
to  the  Sabbath,  or  to  the  season  of  family  wor- 
ship, but  bring  the  influences  of  it  into  all  the 
common  actions  and  occurrences  of  human  life. 
We  must  sit  down  at  our  tables  and  rise  from 
them,  lie  down  in  om'  beds  and  arise  from  them, 
with  an  eye  to  God's  providence  and  promises. 
Thus  we  must  live  a  Hfe  of  communion  with  God, 
even  while  we  are  engaged  in  worldly  pursuits. 

In  order  to  this,  we  must  have  in  our  hearts  a 
principle  of  grace,  which,  like  a  well  of  living 

Dally  Communion.  f 


98       DAILY   COMMUNION   WITH   GOD. 

water,  may  be  continually  springing  up  to  life 
eternal.  John  4:14.  It  is  necessary,  also,  to 
keep  our  hearts  with  all  diligence,  and  to  con- 
trol our  thoughts,  more  than  Christians  com- 
monly do. 

2.  The  life  of  good  Christians  is  a  hidden  life  ; 
much  of  if  does  not  come  under  the  observation  of 
the  ivorld.  The  most  important  part  of  their 
business  lies  between  God  and  their  own  souls, 
in  the  fi-ame  of  their  spirits  and  the  workings  of 
their  hearts  even  in  solitude,  which  no  eye  sees 
but  his,  that  beholds  all.  Justly  are  the  saints 
called  God's  hidden  ones,  and  his  secret  is  spid 
to  be  with  them,  for  they  have  meat  to  eat  and 
work  to  do  which  the  world  knows  not  of,  and 
joys  and  cares  and  griefs  which  a  stranger  does 
not  intermeddle  with. 

It  is  to  be  feared  that  there  are  many  whose 
rehgion  is  external  only,  being  strangers  to  this 
secret  communion  with  God,  in  which  consists 
so  much  of  the  power  of  godliness.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  to  be  hoped  there  are  many 
who  pass  through  the  world  without  being 
taken  notice  of,  and  yet  converse  much  with 
God  in  solitude. 

3.  Observe  what  enemies  to  themselves  those  are 


APPLICATION.  99 

who  continue  under  the  power  of  a  carnal  mind, 
and  live  without  God  in  the  world.  They  lie  down 
and  rise  up,  go  out  and  come  in,  constantly  pur- 
suing the  profits  or  the  pleasures  of  the  world ; 
and  God  is  not  in  all  their  thoughts,  nor  volun- 
tarily in  any  of  them.  They  Hve  upon  the  gifts 
of  his  bounty  fi'om  day  to  day,  but  they  feel  no 
regard  to  him,  never  own  then-  dependence  upon 
him,  nor  make  any  effort  or  self-denial  to  secure 
his  favor. 

Those  who  Hve  such  a  mere  animal  Hfe  as  this, 
not  only  put  great  contempt  on  God,  but  do 
great  damage  to  themselves ;  they  deprive  them- 
selves of  the  greatest  comforts  that  can  be  en- 
joyed on  this  side  of  heaven.  What  peace  can 
they  have  who  are  not  at  peace  with  God? 
What  rational  satisfaction  can  be  taken  in  their 
hopes,  which  rest  on  so  precarious  a  foundation 
as  earthly  good  ? 

4.  What  a  pleasant  life  the  people  of  God  might 
live,  were  it  not  for  their  own  fault  and  folly ! 
Some  of  them  are  gloomy,  full  of  cares  and 
fears  and  complainings,  because  they  do  not 
pursue  that  life  of  delight  in  God  and  of  de- 
pendence on  him  which  they  ought  to  live.  God 
has  provided  for  theu-  happiness,  even  here 


100    DAILY   COMMUNION   WITH   GOD. 

but  they  neglect  to  use  the  provisions  he  haa 
made  for  them. 

Oh,  that  all  who  appear  to  be  conscientious, 
and  are  afraid  of  sin,  would  appear  cheerful, 
and  be  afraid  of  nothing  else  but  sin ;  that  all 
who  call  God  their  Father,  and  have  a  care  to 
please  him,  and  to  keep  themselves  in  his  love, 
would  learn  to  cast  all  their  other  care  upon 
him,  and  to  commit  their  way  to  him,  as  to  a 
Father.  He  chooses  our  inheritance,  and  knows 
what  is  best  for  us — ^better  than  we  do  for  our- 
selves. It  is  (writes  Matthew  Henry)  what  I 
have  often  said,  and  will  abide  by,  "  That  a  holy, 
heavenly  life,  spent  in  the  service  of  God  and  in 
communion  with  him,  is  the  most  pleasant,  comfort- 
able life  anybody  can  live  in  this  world.''* 

*  A  more  beautiful  illustration  of  this  thought,  or  of  this 
fact,  can  scarcely  be  furnished,  than  that  which  we  find 
in  one  of  the  letters  of  the  Eev.  Dr.  Philip  Doddridge,  to 
his  much  loved  wife,  in  his  absence  from  home  in  search 
of  health.  Thus  he  writes:  "My  days  begin,  pass,  and 
end  in  pleasure,  and  seem  short  because  they  are  so  de- 
lightful. It  may  seem  strange  to  say  it,  but  really  so  it 
is,  I  hardly  feel  that  I  want  anything.  I  often  think  of  you, 
and  pray  for  you,  and  bless  God  on  your  account,  and 
please  myself  with  the  hope  of  many  comfortable  days 
and  weeks  and  years  with  you  ;  yet  I  am  not  at  all  anx- 
ious about  your  return,  or  indeed  anything  else  ;  and  the 


APPLICATION.  101 

5.  From  all  that  has  been  said,  we  learn  what 
18  the  best  preparation  we  can  make,  for  encounter- 
ing the  changes  that  are  appointed  to  us  in  the  pres- 
ent state.  It  is,  to  keep  up  a  constant  intercourse 
and  communion  with  God,  to  converse  with  him 
daily,  and  maintain  stated  devotions.  Then  we 
may  come  to  God  in  all  times  of  trouble  with  a 
cheerful  boldness  and  comfort,  and  find  in  him 

reason,  the  great  and  sufficient  reason  is,  that  I  have  more 
of  the  presence  of  God  with  me  than  I  remember  ever  to 
have  enjoyed  in  any  one  month  of  my  life.  He  enables 
me  to  live  for  him,  and  to  live  with  him.  When  I  awake 
in  the  morning,  which  is  always  before  it  is  light,  I  ad- 
dress myself  to  him,  and  converse  with  him ;  speak  to 
him  while  I  am  lighting  my  candle  and  putting  on  my 
clothes ;  and  have  often  more  delight  before  I  come  out 
of  my  chamber,  though  it  be  hardly  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
after  my  awakening,  than  I  have  enjoyed  for  whole  days, 
or,  perhaps,  weeks,  of  my  Ufe.  He  meets  me  in  my  study, 
in  secret,  in  family  devotions.  It  is  pleasant  to  read, 
pleasant  to  compose,  pleasant  to  converse  with  my  friends 
at  home ;  pleasant  to  visit  those  abroad — the  poor,  the 
sick  ;  pleasant  to  write  letters  of  necessary  business,  by 
which  any  good  can  be  done  ;  pleasant  to  go  out  and 
preach  the  gospel  to  poor  souls,  of  which  some  are  thirst- 
ing for,  and  others  dying  without  it ;  pleasant  in  the  week 
day  to  think  how  near  another  Sabbath  is  ;  but  oh  !  much, 
much  more  pleasant  to  think  how  near  eternity  is — how 
short  the  journey  through  this  wilderness,  and  that  it  ia 
but  a  step  from  earth  to  heaven." 


102  COMMUNION   WITH  GOD. 

a  Eefuge  ;  for  we  are  not  to  expect  in  tliis  world 
entire  exemption  fi*om  annoyances  and  afflictions. 
But  if  every  day  be  to  us,  as  it  should  be,  a  Sab- 
bath of  rest  in  God  and  of  communion  with  him, 
earthly  troubles  will  lose  much  of  their  power 
to  disturb  our  peace,  and  to  render  us  unhappy. 

"  My  soul,  a  hymn  of  evening  praise 
To  God  thy  kind  preserver  raise, 
Whose  hand,  this  day,  hath  guarded,  fed, 
And  thousand  blessings  round  thee  shed. 

"  Forgive  my  sins  this  day,  0  Lord, 
In  thought  or  feeling,  deed  or  word ; 
And  if  in  aught  thy  law  I  've  kept, 
My  feeble  efforts,  Lord,  accept. 

"  While  nature  round  is  hushed  to  rest, 
Let  no  vain  thought  disturb  my  breast ; 
Shed  o'er  my  soul  religion's  power, 
Serenely  solemn  as  the  hour, 

"  Oh,  bid  the  angels  o'er  me  keep 
Their  watch,  to  shield  me  while  I  sleep. 
Till  the  fresh  morn  shall  round  me  break; 
Then  with  new  vigor  may  I  wake; 

"Yet  think,  my  soul,  another  day 
Of  thy  short  course  has  rolled  away  ; 
Ah,  think  how  soon  in  deepening  shade 
The  day  of  life  itself  shall  fade  !"  frisbie. 

6.   The  course  of  life  recommended  in  the  j^ages 

of  this  work,  indicates  the  best  preparation  we  can 

make  for  the  unchangeable  world  before  us.     "We 


APPLICATION.  103 

]mow  that  God  will  bring  us  to  death,  and  our 
great  concern  should  be  to  get  ready  for  if. 
The  business  of  every  day  should  be,  to  pre- 
pare for  our  last  day ;  and  what  better  can  w< . 
do  for  ourselves  in  anticipation  of  the  dying 
hour,  than  by  frequent  retirement,  for  holding 
communion  with  God,  to  detach  our  affections 
from  that  world  which  at  death  we  must  aban- 
don, and  to  become  better  acquainted  with  that 
other  world  to  which  at  death  we  are  to  be 
transferred?  Thus  may  it  be  made,  by  divine 
grace,  as  easy  to  us  to  close  our  eyes  in  peace 
and  die,  as  it  is  wont  to  be  to  close  our  eyes  in 
peace  and  sleep. 

Certain  it  is,  that  all  who  shall  go  to  heaven 
hereafter  begin  their  heaven  now,  and  have 
their  hearts  there  now.  If  thus  we  enter  into 
spiritual  rest  every  night,  it  will  be  a  pledge  of 
our  future  repose  in  the  embraces  of  divine  love 
in  that  more  desirable  world,  where  day  and 
night  come  to  an  end,  and  where  we  shall  never 
cease  to  pour  out  our  praises  to  Him,  who  is, 
and  will  be  our  Everlasting  Eest. 

"  As,  when  the  wearj^  traveller  gains 

The  height  of  some  o'erlooking  hill, 
His  heart  revives,  if  o'er  the  plains 

He  sees  his  home,  though  distant  still; 


104  COMMUNION   WITH    GOD. 

**  Thus,  when  the  Christian  pilgrim  views 
By  faith  his  mansion  in  the  skies, 
The  sight  his  fainting  strength  renews, 
And  wings  his  speed  to  reach  the  prize. 

"  *'Tis  there,'  he  says,  'I  am  to  dwell 
With  Jesus  in  the  realms  of  day  ; 
Then  shall  I  bid  my  cares  farewell. 
And  he  shall  wipe  my  tears  away.' 

"Jesus,  on  thee  our  hope  depends, 
To  lead  us  on  to  thine  abode. 
Assured  our  home  will  make  amends 
For  all  our  toil  while  on  the  road."         newtom. 


Princeton  Theolocjical  Seminary  Libra 


1    1012  01219  9529 


